NewsTrust - U.S. Budget - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Mainstream)

Individual mandate is Ryan tax credit by other name

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Ezra Klein - Apr. 01 (Opinion) - Tax credits : Under various health-care proposals — including the plan of Republican Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.) — the tax code is changed to give families a tax credit for buying private health insurance. Families that choose to go without insurance

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How the GOP lost on the debt deal

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Daniel Markovits - Aug. 03 (Opinion) - The deal reached by Congress eliminates the leverage that would have been created by another imminent default until after the next election, where it will be exercised by new and possibly differently constituted players.

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Obvious compromise between Reid and Boehner debt plans

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Ezra Klein - Jul. 26 (Opinion) - When it comes to cutting the national deficit, the plans proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner are much more similar than they are different. It’s on the issue of raising the debt ceiling that the consensus cracks.

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The Chart That Should Accompany All Discussions of the Debt Ceiling

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Atlantic Monthly - By James Fallows - Jul. 25 (Opinion) - You can be against deficits. You can be for preserving tax cuts. You cannot be for both -- logically, that is.

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Obama’s communications gap

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By David Ignatius - Jul. 16 (Opinion) - A prominent Bush administration official was talking privately about Barack Obama last week: He’s probably going to win in 2012, this Republican said. He deserves credit for “going big” in the budget talks and capturing the center of the debate. But why isn’t he projecting his goals and philosophy more clearly to the country? Why does he so often seem to react rather than lead?

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Obama vs. Obama

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Weekly Standard - By Stephen F. Hayes - Jul. 11 (Opinion) - In a 75-minute meeting Sunday night, President Obama once again demanded that more than $1 trillion in tax increases be part of any deficit reduction package attached to a vote on the debt ceiling. In the session, Obama rejected a Republican proposal to seek $2.5 trillion in spending cuts and reforms, and insisted on higher taxes on businesses and wealthy individuals.

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Big Deficit Deal or Not, Obama Wins - Wall Street Journal

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Wall Street Journal - Jul. 11 (Opinion) - CBC.caBig Deficit Deal or Not, Obama WinsWall Street JournalPresident Barack Obama declared again Monday that he was seeking a really big deficit-cutting deal. In fact, he has powerful reasons to want one—as well as some ability to turn a failure to get one to his advantage. ...Obama, Congress haggle over debt dealMarketWatchDebt talks: Boehner says spending cuts alone reflect 'balance' Obama seeksLos Angeles TimesObama, Republicans back behind closed doorsUSA TodayFinancial Times -Bloomberg -San Francisco Chronicleall 4,486 news articles »

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The Mother of All No-Brainers

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By David Brooks - Jul. 05 (Opinion) - If the debt ceiling talks fail, independents voters will see that Democrats were willing to compromise but Republicans were not. If responsible Republicans don’t take control, independents will conclude that Republican fanaticism caused this default. They will conclude that Republicans are not fit to govern.

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How you know the negotiations have truly failed

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Ezra Klein - Jun. 30 (Opinion) - “The primary goal of President Obama’s presser, which just wrapped up, was obvious,” writes Greg Sargent. “He was clearly out to pick a major public fight with Republicans over tax cuts for the rich.” That’s exactly right. But he didn’t want this fight. He wanted a deal.

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Obama’s trash-talking presser

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Dana Milbank - Jun. 30 (Opinion) - The best answer President Obama gave at his news conference was to a question nobody asked.

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Learning from honest cynic Mitch McConnell

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Ezra Klein - Jun. 29 (Opinion) - McConnell doesn’t need to be inspiring or jocular. Shouldn’t be, in fact. What he’s saying isn’t inspirational or funny. It’s grim and divisive. And that’s why it’s so important. In a city split between liars and idealists, McConnell is the rarest of all things: an honest cynic.

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Wonkbook: How could taxes blow up debt talks?

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Ezra Klein - Jun. 24 (Opinion) - Here's a little game. Take almost any of the Republican leadership's comments yesterday and substitute the words "bombing the moon" for the mention of taxes. See if the comments don't just work, but in fact work a little better.

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It's the Health Care Costs, Stupid

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Jun. 12 (Opinion) - I’ve already written about Joe Lieberman’s very bad, no good idea of raising the Medicare eligibility age. Austin Frakt and Aaron Carroll show that it’s even worse than I thought: Americans near 65 who don’t have good health insurance delay needed treatment, causing a bulge in Medicare costs when they hit the magic age, and the same phenomenon would get even worse, so this might not even save money. The larger point is that we don’t have a Medicare problem, we have a health care cost problem. And Medicare actually does a better job of controlling costs than private insurers — not remotely good enough, but better.

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Discretionary Truthiness

Sun, 29 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - May. 29 (Opinion) - I keep hearing Republicans say that Obama has increased nondefense discretionary spending by 80 percent; it’s one of those “facts” that apparently everyone on the right knows. So where does that come from? Well, it turns out that Politifact is on the case — but gets it wrong, too, although not as wrong as the Republicans.

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To Fix Health Care, First Try Rewarding Failure

Thu, 26 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Bloomberg - By Ezra Klein - May. 26 (Opinion) - Few policy problems are more confounding than the inexorable rise in health-care spending. It threatens the economy even as the health-care system fails at its basic task of making us healthier. But the only way to fix it runs counter to both our instincts and our political system: we need to allow ourselves to fail -- often, enthusiastically and, above all, constructively.

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Newt Gingrich’s meltdown on the launch pad

Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Eugene Robinson - May. 20 (Opinion) - “I want to make sure every House Republican is protected from some kind of dishonest Democratic ad. So let me say on the record, any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood, because I have publicly said those words were inaccurate and unfortunate.”

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Newt Gingrich digs himself a deep hole

Wed, 18 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Dan Blaz - May. 18 (Opinion) - It was Hillary Clinton, back in 2007, who said there are no do-overs in life. That is especially true for politicians. If there were, Newt Gingrich would be grasping for the opportunity. Gingrich’s presidential hopes have always been problematic, given his controversial history. The rocky opening to his campaign has made those odds far longer. If he learned from past mistakes, as he claimed shortly before he declared his candidacy, it was not evident in the days that followed his announcement. What will he learn from this week?

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Let’s Take a Hike

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Apr. 25 (Opinion) - When I listen to current discussions of the federal budget, the message I hear sounds like this: We’re in crisis! We must take drastic action immediately! And we must keep taxes low, if not actually cut them further!

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In House GOP budget plan, the rich get richer

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Detroit Free Press - Apr. 24 (Editorial) - The long-term budget plan approved earlier this month in the U.S. House of Representatives would give new succor to the most well-off Americans.

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Beware 'consumer-based' medicine

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Seattle Times - By Paul Krugman - Apr. 23 (Opinion) - GOP congressional backlash against the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a key part of efforts to rein in health-care costs was predictable, writes Paul Krugman. It is also profoundly irresponsible.

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Obama's Permanent Spending Binge

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Wall Street Journal - By John B. Taylor - Apr. 22 (Opinion) - Americans are clamoring for a fact-based debate about the budget, but the numbers they're hearing from Washington are terribly confusing. Here's an example: Speaking at a Facebook town hall meeting here on Wednesday, President Obama sometimes talked about saving $4 trillion, at other times $2 trillion, and he varied whether it was over 10 years or 12 years, never mentioning any one year.

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S&P Tells Biggest Debtor Don’t Blow Final Act

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Bloomberg - By Caroline Baum - Apr. 19 (Opinion) - Rarely has a credit rating company made such an astute observation of the human condition. “We believe there is a material risk that U.S. policy makers might not reach an agreement on how to address medium- and long-term budgetary challenges by 2013,” Standard & Poor’s said on assigning a negative outlook to the U.S. AAA-credit rating Monday.

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S&P states the much-needed obvious on U.S. debt

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Reuters - By Agnes T. Crane, Richard Beales - Apr. 18 (Opinion) - Standard & Poor’s has taken its share of flak in recent years. But at least the credit rating firm isn’t too shy to state the much needed obvious on America’s debt situation. S&P’s shift on Monday to a negative outlook on Uncle Sam’s AAA credit shouldn’t come as any surprise. But it should act as a reality check.

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The New Republican Landscape

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - Apr. 17 (Opinion) -

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Neediest and sickest Americans would pay the price under GOP budget plan - latimes.com

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - Apr. 17 (Opinion) - The Guardian (blog)Neediest and sickest would pay the price under GOP budget planLos Angeles TimesRep. Paul D. Ryan's proposals would relieve the government of much of the responsibility for paying for healthcare, but if the result is that individuals carry a heavier burden, is that really a 'path to prosperity'? ...How would the House budget change Medicare?NewsOK.comRep. David Scott opposes Republican budget planThe State ColumnFundraising by GOP House freshmen off to slow startWashington PostPolitico -AFP -Chicago Tribuneall 5,832 news articles »

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