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...

  • Cliff Drama’s Final Act Brings Biden on Board

    By Josh Boak and Eric Pianin, The Fiscal Times

    Sunday seemed in many ways like it was building to the tragic climax in the fiscal cliff drama, but it was actually just the end of the opening act. Plenty of challenges remain even if President...

  • GOP May Lose a Lot More Than Cliff Tax War

    By Craig Shirley, The Fiscal Times

    As President Obama and congressional leaders continue to joust in a last-ditch effort to avert the fiscal cliff , it’s time to articulate a brutal truth: There has never been a more incompetent group...

  • Obama Presses GOP on Deal As Cliff Deadline Nears

    The president urged Republicans to support a deal emerging in the Senate to extend Bush-era tax cuts to all but the wealthiest taxpayers, protect unemployment benefits for 2 million Americans and...

  • A Fiscal Cliff Timeline, Built by Partisan Politics

    By The Fiscal Times Staff

    Political gamesmanship, bitter ideological divisions and repeated miscalculations by both parties over the past two years all helped to put the country on the road to the fiscal cliff.

  • Rates, Estate Tax Are Sticking Points in Possible Deal

    By Lori Montgomery Wp and And Lori Montgomery, The Washington Post, The Washington Post

    Senate negotiators labored late into Saturday over a last-ditch plan to avert the “fiscal cliff,” struggling to resolve key differences over how many wealthy households should face higher income...