Financial

An introduction to the debt limit

This post offers a plain vanilla explanation of the debt limit. This is basic background aimed at fiscal policy novices. I oversimplify in a few places for ease of understanding and push some caveats and complexities down to footnotes. Some of my past readers may find…

Rick Santelli liked our paper

Here’s CNBC’s Rick Santelli interviewing Ed Lazear on our new paper.

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Opposing the President’s FHFA nomination

Today President Obama announced his intent to nominate Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) to head the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA), the regulatory agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

How to avoid shafting future retirees & creating another bailout

Congress will soon vote on a final version of a two-year highway spending bill. Press reports suggest the just-concluded agreement includes a “pension funding stabilization” provision from the Senate version of the…

Why delay austerity decisions?

Lefty and Righty are debating stimulus and austerity over a cup of coffee.

Lefty: Growth of the U.S. economy is slowing due to insufficient domestic demand and headwinds, especially from Europe. We need to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes as…