The Idea Biz
The Real Obamacare Tax Increase
Here's what I don't get. Everybody on the right is screaming and yelling about how the Supreme Court has labelled President Obama a tax-raiser for imposing a financial penalty on people who don't purchase health insurance. So, okay, it's a tax, but it will only be leveled against a small group of taxpayers who can't be induced by new government subsidies to purchase health insurance. READ MORE >>
The Real Obamacare Tax Increase
Mittminum Wage
My latest TRB column is about Mitt Romney's second-best idea. READ MORE >>
Bare Minimum
I LONG AGO GAVE UP trying to figure out who the “real” Mitt Romney is, but among the various claimants to that title is a guy who would like to index the minimum wage to inflation. I like this Mitt, because raising the minimum wage would provide a useful jolt of stimulus right now to the faltering recovery, and indexing it to inflation would keep us from waiting too long before we raised it again. READ MORE >>
Gone Fishin'
I'm on vacation. You'll have to muddle through without me until July 6. TNR's "The Plank" is already doing considerably better than that. See also TNR's reprint of Ron Rosenbaum's peerless 10th anniversary Watergate Wallow from 1982. READ MORE >>
Cutting Taxes Increases Spending!
Cutting Rubio: The Publishing Angle
Obama’s Economic Speech: What’s Missing
The Republican Recession
Yesterday I explained why the Fed's new report on family finances from 2007-2010 shouldn't prompt us to stop thinking about income distribution and start thinking about wealth distribution. Today I'm going to focus on something the Fed report has got me thinking about: the Republican-ness of the 2007-2009 recession and the weak recovery that's followed. READ MORE >>
