by jpitney | Nov 24, 2020 | Debt, Economic Policy
Some policymakers think that the federal debt is a free lunch: growth rates will always exceed interest rates, allowing growth itself to reduce the debt. This theory is badly flawed, explain Sita Slavov and Alan Viard at The Hill: There is always a chance that the...
by jpitney | Nov 23, 2020 | China, Civility
Alexander Hamilton, Feberalist 6: A man must be far gone in Utopian speculations who can seriously doubt, that if these States should either be wholly disunited, or only united in partial confederacies, the subdivisions into which they might be thrown would have...
by jpitney | Nov 22, 2020 | Debt, Economic Policy
From the Congressional Budget Office: In fiscal year 2020, which ended on September 30, the federal budget deficit totaled $3.1 trillion—more than triple the shortfall recorded in fiscal year 2019. Much of that amount was the result of the economic effects of the...
by jpitney | Nov 21, 2020 | Deliberation
Jonath Goldberg at The Dispatch: Here’s a small life hack: If you’re a right-winger, you should read more left-wing stuff, particularly if you currently don’t read any at all. And, if you’re a left-winger, vice versa. I used to read a lot of left-wing stuff. Indeed,...
by jpitney | Nov 20, 2020 | Congress, House of Representatives
Sarah Ferris, Heather Caygle and John Bresnahan at Politico: Democratic leaders, under pressure from across the caucus, are mulling ways to blunt a procedural tactic Republicans have used to divide their caucus on the floor. The GOP has repeatedly weaponized the...
