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...

  • States Eye $11 Billion Windfall from Online Sales Tax

    By Daniel Vock, Stateline

    The days of shopping online without paying sales taxes may be ending. States are cracking down and a nationwide system for collecting sales tax on online sales may be coming soon.

  • Obama Budget Hits Millionaires with New Tax Hikes

    By Mark Felsenthal and Jeff Mason, Reuters

    The White House on Wednesday proposed a budget that sharply trims the U.S. deficit over three years by forcing millionaires to pay more in taxes and enacting spending cuts that replace the "sequester...

  • How High Should Top Income Tax Rates Be? (Hint: Much Higher)

    By Andrew Fieldhouse, The Fiscal Times

    The U.S. economy is mired in a depression. Output is running $975 billion, or 5.8 percent, below its noninflationary potential as the result of a huge demand shortfall in the aftermath of the housing...

  • D.C.’s Summer Olympics: Let the Government Games Begin

    By Dan Balz, The Washington Post

    Congress returns to work this week facing a crowded legislative agenda and one big question for President Obama and GOP lawmakers: Can Washington govern? At no time since the earliest days of Obama’s...

  • Chained CPI Could Raise Taxes on Lower Middle Class

    While much of the controversy over President Obama’s proposal for tweaking the consumer price index has centered on the impact it would have in cutting long term Social Security benefits for seniors...