In a July 26 commentary, Hoover Institution economist Thomas Sowell argued that the debt limit should be abolished because it has clearly failed to exercise any limit on debt.
On July 22, Macroeconomic Advisers published an estimate of the impact of a delay in raising the debt limit. Key point: the stock market will fall 5 percent.
On July 22, Congressional Budget Office director Doug Elmendorf posted a commentary discussing the nature of the long-term budget problem.
On July 22, Pew published a report on how a federal debt default would affect the states.
On July 22, Sheldon Richman of the Foundation for Economic Education published a commentary arguing in favor of a default on the federal debt.
Also on July 22, Rep. Ron Paul published a commentary also advocating default on the debt.
On July 14, Standard and Poor’s issued a report warning that the U.S. credit rating will be lowered unless there is rapid progress on raising the debt limit and reducing projected budget deficits.
On July 8, the Congressional Research Service published a report on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.
On July 1, the CRS published a report on statutory budget controls in effect between 1985 and 2002.
On June 28, the CRS published a report on the sustainability of the federal budget deficit.
I last posted items on this topic on July 25.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column at The Fiscal Times. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).