Is $700 billion enough?

I think President Obama will soon need to ask Congress for more TARP funding, and that such a request will displace his legislative agenda for a while. Let’s do the math.

When President Obama took office, $387 B of the $700 B of available TARP funds had already…

Auto loans: a deadline looms

The Obama Administration is beginning to leak to the press their impending decision on loans to U.S. auto manufacturers. I am writing in parallel to explain how you might think about such a Presidential decision. There’s an obvious caveat that every President and each…

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog. If you would like to learn more about American economic policy, I would be honored to be your guide. I will do my best to explain the options faced by senior American economic policymakers, and to analyze the choices they make.

Parsing the President: no “climate change”?

I watched the President’s Tuesday evening press conference twice, and have been studying the transcript as well. I believe the best way to understand a policymaker is simple: read, watch, or listen to the words that he or she says. Getting a…

A reporter’s budget mistake at the press conference

At Tuesday evening’s press conference, Jake Tapper, Senior White House Correspondent at ABC News, asked the President:

Q: Thank you, Mr. President. Right now on Capitol Hill Senate Democrats are writing a budget…

Bonuses and the peril of Congressional hindsight

Which matters more to you?

1. Anger at failed AIG executives who are receiving bonuses while their employer is being bailed out by the taxpayer.
2. Fear of what this or a future Congress might do once…

Health spending fallacy

The President emphasized the importance of health care reform in Tuesday evening’s press conference. One of his arguments was that reforming health care would help address federal and state government fiscal problems:

What we have to do is bend the curve on…