Fed Chair calls out Congress for fiscal policy frustrating recovery
FED Chair Ben Bernanke is widely believed to be stepping down at the end of his second term in January. Today he appeared before Congress to give his last biannual…
Update: Senate reaches agreement to avert rule change on filibuster
In a surprise agreement Republican lawmakers in the Senate agree to allow several of President Obama’s nominees for various appointments to proceed in order to avoid the Democratic Majority Leader’s…
NLRB dispute may lead Senate majority to change rules for filibuster
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has done the unthinkable by proposing rule changes in the Senate to restrict filibusters. The proposed change has been considered before by both parties…
The hidden cost of income inequality
Today’s NYT features a commentary by Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz that makes a compelling argument related to his newest book The Price of Inequality. The argument runs like this: The…
Breaking: Attorney General of PA won’t defend marriage prohibition
From the NYT’s News Desk: Pennsylvania’s attorney general, Kathleen Kane, said on Thursday that she would not defend the state against a lawsuit to overturn a ban on same-sex marriage.…
Update: Senate reaches compromise on federal student loan interest rates
Senate negotiators reached a tentative deal this morning to address the student loan interest rate crisis. There now appears to be sufficient bipartisan support to pass legislation similar to a…
Discord on the Fed over stimulus signals lack of direction for recovery
Recent public disclosures of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s board meetings indicate a growing rift between proponents of a gradual withdrawal of the Fed’s stimulus policy of “quantitative easing”…
Congressional politics stands in the way of looming student loan crisis
The coming student loan debt crisis has been widely discussed but it remains low on the list of problems facing Congress and the priorities of the American people. In fact,…
U.S. economy contracts slightly
The U.S. economy contracted by a fraction of a percent in the final quarter of last year, catching investors off guard. According to a Commerce Department report released yesterday GDP…
Since Congress will not do its job, the “fiscal cliff” will do it for them
The failure of Congress to make substantial economic reform is nowhere more visible than in the present hysteria regarding the “fiscal cliff” and its consequences for the federal budget and…