By Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The young drop coverage to avoid higher premiums
The first State of the Union address of President Obama's second term is shaping up as a conservative's nightmare come true.
In the fiscal feud between President Obama and Republican lawmakers, economists agree that Washington could raise several hundred billion dollars by limiting tax deductions and closing loopholes for the wealthy, but charities likely would take a big hit in donations.
The co-chairmen of two past deficit reduction panels warned the congressional supercommittee on Tuesday that the nation could face economic turmoil unless it went "big" and more than tripled its minimum goal of finding $1.2 trillion in government savings.
Pressure on the congressional debt-reduction supercommittee to "go big" is growing, as a bipartisan group of House members is urging the panel to find savings far beyond its $1.5 trillion goal.
On the eve of Thursday's first public meeting of a new congressional deficit reduction "supercommittee," party leaders say they are confident the panel will rise above partisan rancor - despite wide disagreement on how best to achieve its goal.
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform ("the Simpson-Bowles Commission") deserves credit for spotlighting the nation's unsustainable spending and deficit trends. This is, simply put, the greatest economic challenge of our era.
A bipartisan task force on Wednesday called for Congress and President Obama to enact a Social Security payroll tax holiday and a "debt-reduction sales tax" as part of a sweeping plan aimed at getting the government's financial house in order.
D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said for months that he made "hard choices" for the city during "hard times." Now it's Vincent C. Gray's turn.
Throughout the recession, one major city stood out as an oasis for jobs and growth: Washington, D.C.
If the president takes too combative a posture with Republicans, it will “doom” much of his agenda, said Alice Rivlin, another senior fellow at Brookings who served on Mr. Obama’s debt commission.
If the president takes too combative a posture with Republicans, it will "doom" much of his agenda, said Alice Rivlin, another senior fellow at Brookings who served on Mr. Obama's debt commission.
