The deficit crowd cheered when the President included a concept called “Chained CPI” in his 2014 Budget. This is a proposal to change the way the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is calculated. This change is about as wonky as wonk-dome can get, but here’s a try. Currently the CPI grows based on overall increases inContinue reading “Take These Chains Off My CPI (Consumer Price Index)”
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Has Budget Crisis du Jour Got You Down?
The debate about the national economy seems to have slipped into the shadows. You may be breathing a sigh of relief. Shadows on the budget are inevitable with the Congress focusing on immigration and the press focusing on the attack in Boston.
Political Donations and the Securities Exchange Commission
Over the last year and a half, the Alliance for a Just Society and Main Street Alliance have participated in efforts to mitigate the corrosive effect that secret corporate political donations have on the political process.
When the Supremes Hit the Extremes What Happens?
Throughout most of our history the Supreme Court has been accorded a special place as a fair and impartial arbiter of legal issues. Sometimes the Court has failed in this role, but, for the most part it has been an important force in the unity of the nation because seemed to deserved respect. The currentContinue reading “When the Supremes Hit the Extremes What Happens?”
Time to Revive the Public Option
What if the Supreme Court…..? On Wednesday, March 28th, three days of argument ended at the Supreme Court over the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Given the hostility shown a number of Supreme Court Justices, there is every chance that at least the individual mandate will be invalidated. There is a whole bunch of hand-wringing thatContinue reading “Time to Revive the Public Option”
Medicaid and the Supreme Court Case
The case challenging the Affordable Care Act has a lot in it to think about. Much of the public debate and the stories in the press are about the requirement that everyone have insurance – the individual responsibility requirement. But there also is a challenge to the Medicaid expansion.
Daley’s View from Washington: The Pope, Bob Dole, and the Financial Transaction Tax
What do the Pope, Bob Dole, and the Archbishop of Canterbury have in common? They all support some version of a proposal to tax financial speculation. How about we try a tax idea that curbs unproductive speculation on Wall Street and raises money to pay for the governmental services? That is exactly what the Financial TransactionContinue reading “Daley’s View from Washington: The Pope, Bob Dole, and the Financial Transaction Tax”
Report from DC: Can A Financial Transaction Tax Fix The Deficit?
A financial transaction tax (FTT) is one proposal being debated by economists as a solution to the national budget deficits both in the US and in Europe. The FTT would place a small tax on stock and commodity trade, and a version of it has been introduced in the Congress by Representative Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon)Continue reading “Report from DC: Can A Financial Transaction Tax Fix The Deficit?”
Will the Affordable Care Act Help Eliminate Disparities?
Many provisions of the Affordable Care Act are designed to overcome health outcome disparities caused by social factors associated with race, ethnicity, language, and culture. Will they work?
HHS’s Language Rule Excludes Millions of People
What would you think about a rule designed to give translation of important insurance documents to those who do not speak English well, if that rule required this service in nine counties in New Mexico, but excluded the entire City of Albuquerque?