Michael Barone - Obama riles Dems by spurning New Deal complacency
"The single most important jobs program we can put in place is a growing economy." So said Barack Obama at his surly press conference last week defending the tax deal he made with Republicans.
It's hard to disagree. Robust economic growth solves a lot of fiscal and other problems.
But Obama's fellow Democrats, to whom he explicitly directed these comments, can be forgiven for being puzzled. The whole thrust of his first two years -- the stimulus package, the health care legislation, the vast increases in government spending -- has been to put programs in place that have done little or nothing to stimulate economic growth.
Timothy P. Carney - Want a voice in Washington? Invest in a politician
An odd Financial Services Committee hearing last week highlighted the importance of money in this town, and the increasing need of businessmen to become friendly with politicians.
However, for the outgoing Democratic majority that has relentlessly fought to increase government control over the economy, especially finance, this proposal is out of character. That's why the money trail matters. And it leads from Hambrecht to Nancy Pelosi.
Susan Ferrechio - Dems could miss last chance to pass their own agenda
The House last week passed the Dream Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for people who arrived in America illegally as children and who attend college or join the military. But the legislation stalled in the Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he may take up the bill again this week, but few expect it to pass.
An equally dismal fate awaited the House-passed "don't ask" measure, which was attached to the defense authorization bill but failed to garner the 60 votes it needed to advance. Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, have since introduced a new bill to repeal the ban and say they will have 60 votes needed to pass it, perhaps this week.
Timothy P. Carney - 'Who Benefits?' Bloomberg News liberals asks only half the time
Doesn't it matter that Pomeroy's all-time top source of campaign funds is New York Life, the largest life insurer in the country, and that he was the top House recipient of insurance industry money?
Yes, it does, because, as I point out in the AFBF paper, life insurers have lobbied like crazy to save the estate tax, which drives billions of dollars in business to companies like NY Life every year. Hopefully Donmoyer will mention this dynamic next time he writes about the estate tax fight.
Mark Tapscott - Political class, Middle America headed in opposite directions on economy
A new Rasmussen Reports survey turns up new evidence of a yawning divide between the nation's Political Class and the rest of the country on what to do about the federal government's fiscal crisis.
The survey found "that 57% of likely U.S. voters think reducing federal government spending is more important than reducing the deficit. Thirty-four percent (34%) put reducing the deficit first," according to Rasmussen.
But when the same issue was put before members of the two groups, the results were profoundly different:
"It’s telling to note that while 65% of mainstream voters believe cutting spending is more important, 72% of the Political Class say the primary emphasis should be on deficit reduction," Rasmussen said.
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