2012 Elections

GOP Leaders Take on Far Right Pressure Groups

By Eric Pianin

There have been plenty of theories about why Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) strode onstage at a conservative gathering late last week carrying a rifle. Ostensibly, McConnell, the 72-...
Some CEOs Are Still Cashing In at Our Expense

By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

Many of the highest paid CEOs might be ripping off stockholders and taxpayers, according to a study released Wednesday by the progressive Institute for Policy Studies.
Tax Reform Could Be Easier Than Congress Thinks

By Yuval Rosenberg

The conservative-leaning Tax Foundation issued a press release Monday touting some “good news for tax reformers”: An analysis by experts at the foundation found that a plan to dramatically simplify...
‘The Daily Show’ Explains Why Our ‘Chicken$#!&’ Congress Hasn’t Reformed the Tax Code

By Yuval Rosenberg

Congress may be out on its month-long August recess, but that doesn’t mean “The Daily Show” stops its skewering. Last night, host John Oliver took on our broken tax code – and used the issue to take...
How 21 Major Corporations Dodged $93B in Taxes

By Eric Pianin and Josh Boak

Twenty-one of the top 100 publicly traded U.S. corporations – including such big names as Goldman Sachs, Apple and Walt Disney – have avoided paying $93 billion a year in federal taxes by parking...

Obama’s Bargain: Lower Rates for Higher Spending

By Eric Pianin

President Obama intends to make one last pitch for a “grand bargain” of new spending and tax policy on Tuesday that will attempt to marry corporate tax reform with funding for jobs to benefit the...
Ominous Signs for the GOP in 2014

By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

The conventional wisdom is that Republicans are in good shape going into next year’s congressional elections. Gerrymandering and the enormous benefits of incumbency virtually guarantee them continued...
Trading Tax Write-Offs for Real Growth

By Andrew Fieldhouse, The Fiscal Times

Overhauling the tax code is a wonky fixation of the D.C. policymaking elite, for good reason — it’s an area loaded with policy nuance, lobbying intrigue and major ramifications for long-term fiscal...
IRS Scandal: How the Brouhaha Went Bust

By Peter Weber, TheWeek.com

Rep. Darrell Issa is still banging the scandal drum. Is anyone listening anymore?
Beer, Burgers, and a Two-Man Blitz on Tax Reform

By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) are keeping hope alive that the tax code can be rewritten. Both peg the odds of successful reform at more than 50 percent, according to a joint lunch...

High Tech Sleuths Nab Property Tax Scofflaws

By Eric Pianin

For years, local governments mostly relied on the honesty and good will of homeowners in determing whether they were entitled to a homestead exemption that would slash their annual property tax bill...
The Game Plan that Lets Romney Beat Obama

By Liz Peek

It’s time for Republicans to stop mewing like sick kittens and get on with ejecting President Obama from the White House. Like Victorian mothers fussing over their daughters, pundits on the right can...
The Income Gap Shrinks with Accurate Accounting

By Liz Peek

Are the rich getting richer? President Obama thinks so, and has made narrowing the gap between rich and poor a staple of his reelection campaign. Many on the left who decry the exorbitant payouts to...
Who Is Rich These Days? The Income Gap Myth

By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

A while back, the Fiscal Times sparked a controversy by publishing an article arguing that a family with an income of $250,000 per year is not really rich. When taxes, housing costs, college costs...
The Two Issues that Can Bring Down the Economy

By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

The term “crisis” is frequently overused in Washington, never more so than in budget debates. The problem is that a real crisis requires a hard deadline by which time something must happen or...

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