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Republican leaders in Congress like to talk about the need to foster more economic "certainty" and "reassure" the markets. Just yesterday, for example, House Speaker John Boehner appealed for cutting social insurance programs on the grounds that "Nothing – nothing – would send a more reassuring message to the markets than taking bipartisan steps to fix the structural problems in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security."
One enduring mystery of the Republican Party's extreme anti-tax position is who they are speaking for? Does any substantial swath of the American public really oppose tax increases so much that they want this option completely off the table as a means for taming the deficit?
Listen to anyone talking about Occupy Wall Street and inevitably, rising inequality will emerge as one of the main concerns. And, rightfully so. The United States now has income inequality levels on par with countries like Mexico and Argentina.
While a growing body of research documents the many negative effects of economic inequality, these impacts are not reflected in any national accounting measure. Fortunately, though, there is progress on the state level.
Advocates of low taxes and small government like to say that America's economy -- and our society -- works best when individuals and businesses direct how the nation's wealth is used, and government's hands are kept far from the tiller. The genuis of the market, it is said, is that myriad decisions based on self-interest produce outcomes that maximize overall prosperity and well-being.
NEW YORK-- Recent repeal of the long-term care provision in the Affordable Care Act, has brought renewed importance to the economic security of many vulnerable Americans, particularly seniors. A new research brief, “Rising Economic Insecurity Among Single Senior Women,” published today by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy and the national policy center Demos, sheds light on the dire financial state of single women who are most in need of long-term care supports due to their higher life expectancy.
Economic mobility is a tricky subject and it helps to do your homework before offering opinions in this area. Case in point is the recent speech by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan at the Heritage Foundation.
Critics love to beat up on government for its screw-ups and misfires -- as if these mistakes prove the point that the public sector can't do anything right. Exhibit A of late is the failed loan to Solyndra, which has been seized on as evidence that Washington can't create green jobs or do industrial policy more generally.