China May Tell Geithner to Take a Hike
William Pesek, Bloomberg
Timothy Geithner says borrowing more from China to finance tax cuts for the most affluent Americans would be irresponsible.The Treasury secretary has it backward. The real question is whether Beijing is willing to double down on a nation whose balance sheet makes Italy look good. Holding $1.2 trillion of U.S. debt is a fast-growing risk to China.Traders have a theory about why the euro is reasonably stable amid a broadening debt crisis: Asian central banks are converting proceeds from recent intervention moves into other currencies.
The Politics of Wishful Thinking
Robert Samuelson, Newsweek
WASHINGTON — In the Great Budget Debate, Democrats and Republicans are closer than you might think. Neither is proposing a balanced budget anytime soon; both peddle soothing myths to convince supporters that they're upholding either “liberal” or “conservative” values. Meanwhile, the public seems largely clueless about the enormity of the problem. In 2021, the Congressional Budget Office reckons that even after a full economic recovery the remaining deficit will equal almost 5 percent of gross domestic product. In today's dollars, that's $750 billion….
Ryan Budget Defended by GOPers Facing Voters at Home
Tax Reform Can Yet Save America
Clive Crook, Financial Times
One of the few drawbacks of residing in the US is the annual encounter with Form 1040, which is to personal finance as waterboarding is to asking some questions. Today is the deadline for declaring your income and taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. In early April, as the sun shines and the blooms appear, the mood of the country visibly subsides. Citizens reach for their anti-depressants and tax-preparation software.
