2012 Elections
  • Obama’s Bargain: Lower Rates for Higher Spending

    President Obama intends to make one last pitch for a “grand bargain” of new spending and tax policy on Tuesday that will attempt to marry corporate tax reform with funding for jobs to benefit the...

  • Ominous Signs for the GOP in 2014

    By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

    The conventional wisdom is that Republicans are in good shape going into next year’s congressional elections. Gerrymandering and the enormous benefits of incumbency virtually guarantee them continued...

  • Trading Tax Write-Offs for Real Growth

    By Andrew Fieldhouse, The Fiscal Times

    Overhauling the tax code is a wonky fixation of the D.C. policymaking elite, for good reason — it’s an area loaded with policy nuance, lobbying intrigue and major ramifications for long-term fiscal...

  • IRS Scandal: How the Brouhaha Went Bust

    By Peter Weber, TheWeek.com

    Rep. Darrell Issa is still banging the scandal drum. Is anyone listening anymore?

  • Beer, Burgers, and a Two-Man Blitz on Tax Reform

    By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

    Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) are keeping hope alive that the tax code can be rewritten. Both peg the odds of successful reform at more than 50 percent, according to a joint lunch...

  • Details of Senate Fiscal Cliff Tax Deal

    Here is a summary of the fiscal cliff agreement approved by the Senate early Tuesday morning by a vote of 89 to 8. The House is set to vote on the plan today, and this is not a slam dunk. Many house...

  • Will House Approve Senate Tax Hike on Super Rich?

    By Josh Boak and Eric Pianin, The Fiscal Times

    If the budget gods had their way, the 112th Congress would mercifully conclude its deliberations today on a major budget deal to blunt the worst of the fiscal cliff and then fade into history. We’re...

  • Senate May Have Cliff Deal on Taxes Only

    By Eric Pianin and Josh Boak

    A seemingly upbeat President Obama tried to keep the pressure on negotiators to finalize a fiscal cliff deal by midnight tonight as the rough contours of a bipartisan agreement began to emerge from...

  • Cliff Deal? Or the Triumph of Hope Over Experience

    By Thomas Ferraro and Jeff Mason, Reuters

    A deal to avert the fiscal crisis was said to be in the works in the Senate that would raise tax rates on household income above $450,000, said a source familiar with the talks. The agreement would...

  • As Deadline Looms, Stocks Poised for a Cliff Dive

    The turbulent fiscal cliff negotiations may have shaken the stock market last week, but they haven’t really unnerved investors – at least not yet. Analysts say that could still change, though, and...