Washington Hits Rock Bottom
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on December 25th, 2012 12:08 am by HL
Washington Hits Rock Bottom
Andrew McCarthy, National Review
When your dissolute political establishment sinks to the point of being fit for lectures from Chinese Communists on spending restraint, and from erstwhile Soviet revanchists on foreign-affairs modesty, you are at rock bottom. Welcome to Washington.Remember two summers ago, the depths of the last Beltway debacle on out-of-control borrowing that charted the course for today’s latest Beltway debacle on spending and taxes. It was then that China’s rulers blasted Uncle Santa for our “debt addiction,” our failure to observe “the commonsense…
Will 2013 Mark the Beginning of U.S. Decline?
Simon Johnson, Bloomberg
“A modest man,” Winston Churchill supposedly quipped about Clement Attlee, his successor as prime minister, “but then he has so much to be modest about.” We should say the same about economists, particularly their ability to forecast anything in a useful and timely manner.Those predicting an imminent American economic decline have usually been no exception. This time, though, they may be on to something.
Stabilization Won’t Save Us
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, New York Times
The fiscal cliff is not really a “cliff”; the entire country won’t fall into the ocean if we hit it. Some automatic tax cuts will expire; the government will be forced to cut some expenditures. The cliff is really just a red herring.Likewise, any last-minute deal to avoid the spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1 isn’t likely to save us from economic turmoil. It would merely let us continue the policy mistakes we’ve been making for years, allowing us only to temporarily stabilize the economy rather than address…
GM Bailout Protected Wages, Not Jobs
Twas the Night Before Fiscliff
Bill Frezza, RealClearMarkets
Twas the night before Fiscliff, when all through the HouseNot a statesman was stirring, not even to grouse.Neither bills nor amendments have much of a prayerSince hope and change fever brought gridlock to bear.The citizens pondered in fear and in dread,What will happen if off the cliff we go instead?Obama was sure he set Boehner a trapTo force taxes higher, give rich folks a slap.
