Elections

Budget Battles

  • GOP: All Talk on Eliminating Tax Breaks—No Action

    By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

    The principal problem for tax reform has always been that people want lower tax rates and in theory are willing to give up tax deductions and loopholes to pay for them, but they strenuously resist...

  • Romney's Goal: Energy Independence by 2020

    By Steve Holland, Reuters

    Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will lay out policies on Thursday aimed at achieving North American energy independence by 2020 by pursuing a sharp increase in production of oil and...

  • Jobless Claims Rise as Economy Crawls Ahead

    By Reuters

    The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, suggesting the labor market is healing too slowly to make much of a dent in the unemployment rate.

  • Why Serious Talk of Balancing the Budget Went Bust

    By Eric Pianin and Josh Boak

    There was a time not too long ago when a balanced budget was the Holy Grail of the GOP, and Democratic President Bill Clinton put the government on track for four straight years of surpluses. But in...

  • Tea Party, Libertarians Win Big in GOP Platform

    By Merrill Goozner, The Fiscal Times

    Tea Party activists and libertarians who will be attending the Republican National Convention next week in Tampa won major victories in the draft platform that will be voted on by the full convention.