Financial Times (July 8)
“If the eurozone did not exist, the world would be focused on America’s recovery problem.” With unemployment so high and Treasuries so low, Congress should be utilizing fiscal stimulus. Since they’re not going to, the Fed should step in with quantitative easing. “Last month’s jobs report confirmed that the US recovery is stalling for the third year in a row….The case is now strong enough for the Fed to embark on a QE3 asset-purchase programme at its next meeting at the end of July.”
New York Times (May 11)
Congress is “slower than snail mail.” The United States Postal Service (USPS) needs to make reforms. Unfortunately, these require Congressional agreement. While Congress delays, the USPS “is running deficits of $36 million a day. It will go bankrupt this year and annual losses could rise to $21 billion a year by 2016.”Congress is “slower than snail mail.” The United States Postal Service (USPS) needs to make reforms. Unfortunately, these require Congressional agreement. While Congress delays, the USPS “is running deficits of $36 million a day. It will go bankrupt this year and annual losses could rise to $21 billion a year by 2016.”
New York Times (April 23)
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has been hard by declining volume. “Bread-and-butter revenue from first-class mail has been evaporating as most bills are now paid on the Internet.” As a result, the USPS is planning to file for bankruptcy on May 15, unless Congress provides approval to close 3,700 post offices, combine regional processing centers and quit delivering the mail on Saturday. The New York Times believes Congress should provide the USPS with the flexibility is seeks.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has been hard by declining volume. “Bread-and-butter revenue from first-class mail has been evaporating as most bills are now paid on the Internet.” As a result, the USPS is planning to file for bankruptcy on May 15, unless Congress provides approval to close 3,700 post offices, combine regional processing centers and quit delivering the mail on Saturday. The New York Times believes Congress should provide the USPS with the flexibility is seeks.
Tags: Bankruptcy, Closures, Congress, Mail, Postal Service, U.S.
New York Times (April 1)
Congress just passed the “deeply flawed” JOBS Act. President Obama should not sign this bill which “rolls back important investor safeguards from the post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley law and the post-financial crisis Dodd-Frank law.” If it becomes law, it “is an invitation to a fresh round of financial malfeasance…sooner or later, investors will be harmed by its heedless weakening of important protections.”
Tags: Congress, Dodd-Frank, Investors, JOBS Act, Safeguards, SOX, U.S.
New York Times (March 11, 2012)
The proposed JOBS Act (an acronym for Jumpstart our Business Startups) is “a terrible package of bills that would undo essential investor protections, reduce market transparency and distort the efficient allocation of capital.” Amazed by the utter lack of memory, the New York Times stands opposed. “We know memories are short in Washington. But Enron was just 10 years ago. And the entire system almost imploded in 2008. There is no excuse.”
Tags: Congress, Enron, Financial Crisis, Investors, JOBS Act, Start-ups, Transparency
New York Times (February 13, 2012)
“The president’s budget calls for long-term deficit reduction, but its immediate priority is to encourage the fledgling economic recovery. Instead of trying to stabilize the budget on the backs of the poor, it would raise taxes on the wealthy and on big banks and eliminate many corporate tax loopholes.” Congress should pass this budget. Alas, Congress is “dysfunctional.” “The proposal will go nowhere, largely because of the Republican refusal to raise taxes on the wealthy and to spend money on vital programs.”
Washington Post (January 31, 2012)
The Post urges Congress to deal with the mounting long-term debt problem without jeopardizing the economy. “The smart path would deal with the debt in a way that is gradual, balanced between spending cuts and revenue increases and intelligently targeted rather than the current law’s bludgeon.” Trying to reduce the debt too quickly would be “dumb” and cause the economy to crash. Simply ignoring the debt problem, however, would be “dangerous.”
Financial Times (December 11)
Congress should extend the payroll tax cut. “US growth is too fragile at this stage to risk fiscal contraction. If the payroll cut expires, it would withdraw almost $1,000 from the average middle-class pay packet.” Unemployment benefits should also be extended. Congress should “not punish those who are trying to find work.”
Tags: Congress, Growth, Payroll tax, U.S., Unemployment benefits
Washington Post (October 28)
Congress could save $5.5 billion over the next three decades by eliminating the $1 bill and replacing it with a coin. “You might think that the dollar-coin proposal would be a no-brainer…. You would be wrong: Instead of an easy compromise, the dollar-coin proposal shapes up as yet another illustration of how politically difficult it is to reduce any federal expense, no matter how modest.”
Economist (October 15)
The Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act threatens a trade war with China and would, in all likelihood, be found to contravene WTO rules. On October 11, the U.S. Senate passed the legislation. The House should not pass the bill, and President Obama should promise a veto. “The global economy is sicker than a man with a bellyful of bad oysters. The last thing it needs now is a trade war.”
The Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act threatens a trade war with China and would, in all likelihood, be found to contravene the WTO’s rules. On October 11, the U.S. Senate passed the legislation. The House should not pass the bill, and President Obama should promise a veto. “The global economy is sicker than a man with a bellyful of bad oysters. The last thing it needs now is a trade war.”
