On December 13, Moody’s announced that further tax cuts would jeopardize the Treasury’s triple-A bond rating. (Note: On December 7, Moody’s said pretty much the exact opposite.)
On December 10, the Congressional Budget Office published an issue brief on the effects of waiting to address the long-term budget imbalance. It finds that the costs of waiting are substantial.
Also on December 10, Bloomberg released a new poll showing that people are concerned about the budget deficit, but oppose cutting spending or raising taxes for anyone except the wealthy.
In a December 9 commentary, former Office of Management and Budget director David Stockman was highly critical of the White House/Republican deal to extend and amplify expiring tax cuts, calling it a “giveaway.”
Also on December 9, Pew published a new poll on public attitudes about the budget deficit. It finds that people are very concerned about it, but are reluctant to actually do anything about it.
On December 8, the Urban Institute published a study on the impact of recent legislation on the long-term budget outlook.
In a December 6 commentary, Columbia economist Joseph Stiglitz argued in favor of a deficit-reduction package consisting of ending wars and cutting defense spending, eliminating business subsidies and corporate welfare, using the government’s buying power to force down drug prices, and raising taxes on the well-to-do by ending special tax treatment for dividends and capital gains.
Also on December 6, the Center for American Progress published a deficit reduction plan. The primary emphasis is on raising revenues.
And on December 6, the International Monetary Fund published a working paper examining factors that lead to sovereign debt crises.
I last posted items on this topic on December 6.
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. Read his most recent column here . 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, Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).
