Political Paralysis Makes Us Poorer
Calculating the dollars-and-cents costs of policy uncertainty
Two kinds of uncertainty affect our decisions—the unpredictability of the world, and the instability that indecision about law and policy creates. The former is perennial and ineradicable; the latter varies with the character of governance. While we always make decisions in conditions of uncertainty, there are times in which man-made surplus uncertainty further clouds the crystal ball. This matters because beyond a certain point, uncertainty can paralyze decision-making. As economists Scott Baker, Nicholas Bloom, Steven J. READ MORE >>
A Budget to Shortchange Our Future
Obama's plan doesn't do enough to shrink entitlement growth
President Obama’s proposed budget for FY 2014 represents an important contribution to a desperately needed national discussion about our long-term fiscal future. As such, it deserves a careful examination—not the reflexive chorus of cheers and boos (mostly the latter) that it has received so far. READ MORE >>
Say Yes to the Pipeline—and New Green Regulations
Why triangulation is the answer on Keystone
In his second inaugural address, President Obama evoked the highest possible authority in stating his commitment to the global environment:We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. … The path to sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. … That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. READ MORE >>
The Ongoing and Hugely Risky Bailout of the Housing Market
Why the next housing crisis could be worse than the last one
After a long and wrenching plunge, the housing sector has finally bottomed out and seems to be recovering. According to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller index, home prices rose in nearly every metropolitan area during 2012 and turned in a solid gain of 7 percent nationally. Celebration would be premature, however. The human cost of the housing crash has been fearful. READ MORE >>
Obama's Pivot to Europe
Forget China. An EU trade deal would be the real game-changer.
At a time when everyone in Washington wants to talk about making a “pivot” to Asia, both economically and politically, it would be tempting to dismiss President Obama's decision, announced in his State of the Union address, to pursue a United States-European Union free trade area. It would also be a big mistake. The fact is, the U.S. READ MORE >>
Two Roads Diverge
The budget fight will determine the fate of the Republican makeover
Republicans are clearly in the early stages of what will be an extended and difficult effort to redefine their party. But they will soon have to make some fundamental choices about the direction of that evolution. And the terrain for those fateful choices, it's increasingly clear, will be this year's battle over the federal budget. READ MORE >>
Retrenchment Games
Forget Iran—Chuck Hagel's toughest fight will be the Pentagon's budget
In the run-up to his confirmation hearing this week, Chuck Hagel has had to endure a coordinated campaign attacking his views on the simmering conflict between Iran and Israel. There's no doubt that if Hagel is confirmed as Defense Secretary, Tehran's nuclear program will eventually be one of his central challenges. But there's another task that he will have to address first, one that's perhaps even more important for the United States in the long-term: scaling the Pentagon's budget to fiscal reality. READ MORE >>
America Can't Afford to Cut Its Discretionary Spending
How the Fiscal Cliff Deal Cured Washington's Fuzzy Math Epidemic
As public policy, the fiscal cliff deal has few merits to recommend it. But it does have one positive political consequence that has mostly gone overlooked: It substantially narrows the gap between the policy commitments we have made and the way the budget process officially presents them. Americans can finally have a cleaner—if not necessarily more productive—debate over what to do. READ MORE >>
