Despite Its New Diet, Virginia State Government Is Fatter Than Ever
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A. Barton Hinkle examines the Virginia state budget and determines that increased Medicaid spending is the big reason that the state government has had to cut the budget in recent years.
Medicaid Takes Up More of State Budgets, Analysis Finds
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Maybe it’s time to consider reforming Medicare? Before it eats up state budgets completely? And maybe we could do it without demonizing the one party that’s willing to talk about it? (Hello, Congressman Paul Ryan.)
WPRI Report: Rebuilding and Modernizing Wisconsin’s Interstates with Toll Financing
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This is the real work of “rebuilding America’s crumbling roads”. And the money involved is going to require everyone to pitch in, especially the people who use Wisconsin’s roads the most.
All highways wear out over time, despite ongoing maintenance. Over the next 30 years, most of Wisconsin’s Interstate system will exceed its nominal …
Who’s Unwilling to Compromise?
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I was making exactly this point, while driving home last night.
For the Tea Party Republicans who make up a significant part of the House GOP caucus, Boehner’s proposal is a significant retreat from “Cut, Cap and Balance.” Those who support the Boehner proposal, which is formally known as the Budget Control Act, consider …
Understanding the McConnell debt limit proposal
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Keith Hennessey explains what the McConnell debt limit proposal is, how it works, and what its political motivations are.
I still support “Cut, Cap, and Balance” as the best long-term plan. While I’d love to see it enacted, I don’t see it happening with this Senate and this President. I’d initially been disposed to strongly dislike …
Understanding the “Cut, Cap, Balance” Plan
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Keith Hennessey explains the “Cut, Cap, & Balance Act”.
The key to understanding this bill is that it focuses on government spending, rather than on taxes or deficits. The bill would achieve significant deficit reduction through cutting and limiting spending, and all of its mechanisms use spending rather than deficit targets.
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Myths About the Debt Ceiling
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Reason columnist and Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy explains the truth behind some of the myths in the current debt ceiling debate.
If a deal is not reached by August 2, the U.S. will default on its debt. If the debt ceiling isn’t raised the government won’t be able to …
Zygi Wilf Can Buy His Own Stadium
Zygi Wilf, Minnesota governor Mark Dayton discuss new Minnesota Vikings stadium – ESPN
When Gov. Mark Dayton and state lawmakers announced that the outlines of a new budget deal were in place, the Minnesota Vikings were hoping that the door was finally open to discuss their plan for a new $1 billion stadium in …
District swings from deficit to surplus
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As changes to collective bargaining powers for public workers take effect today, the Kaukauna Area School District is poised to swing from a projected $400,000 budget shortfall next year to a $1.5 million surplus due to health care and retirement savings.
“These impacts will allow the district to hire additional …
The Role that Bush-Era Tax and Spending Policies Play in the Deficit
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The Tax Foundation crunches the numbers to see if it’s true that “the economic downturn, President Bush’s tax cuts and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq explain virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years.”
1) Tax revenues have fluctuated largely with the economy, dropping precipitously in the aftermath of the 2008 recession, …