The budget is the main arena in which the nation as a whole decides on the allocation of resources. What we spend money on — and what we don’t — reflects what we value as a nation.
Tag Archives: budget
Wanted: A Thoroughbred for 2012
The law requires that Americans elect someone President next year, but it’s become impossible to predict if either side can collect the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win. Both President Obama and the growing posse of aspiring Republican candidates appear weak and unfocused, more stumblebums than thoroughbreds.
Obama Deficit Plan Is Sensible, but GOP Has Advantage
After exactly three months in office, President Obama called a Cabinet meeting to announce his first push for federal belt tightening. His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, had dubbed this initiative “the Dave project,” after the movie in which the eponymous presidential body double invites his accountant to the White House to slice waste out of the budget.
The Ryan Budget: A Test of Character for Obama
It was fateful that Paul Ryan released his budget plan the same week Barack Obama launched his re-election campaign — because we will now see what matters most to Obama. The President has talked passionately and consistently about the need to tackle the country’s problems, act like grownups, do the hard things and win the future.
Boehner’s Choice: Brace for a Government Shutdown, or Cross the Tea Party
John Boehner, who often meets the press flanked by a team of deputies, took the podium alone on Thursday. With a week left before the government shuts down April 8, the House Speaker took pains to dispel rumors of a deal.
Why Boehner Doesn’t Want a Government Shutdown
You don’t need to tell John Boehner about the lethal damage a government shutdown can do to his party; he’s seen it firsthand. In November 1995, Boehner was a young lieutenant to the mercurial Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who was trying to jam huge GOP budget cuts down the throat of the Clinton White House
Can Jerry Brown Solve California’s Perpetual Crisis?
Like his predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, California Governor Jerry Brown is struggling to keep the state afloat in an ocean of red ink. Facing a $26 billion deficit, he warns of “draconian” cuts to education and public safety if the state cannot raise revenue and has to adopt an all-cuts budget.
The Debt Dilemma
Leaders of democracies, like bear wranglers at the circus, must be experts at reading moods.
Let’s Bail Out the Pot Dealers!
Some dude outside my supermarket just asked me to sign a petition to legalize marijuana. Apparently he was so high that he forgot he’s in California, where pot is already more legal than budget-balancing.
Surprise hit ‘Paranormal Activity’ scares money out of moviegoers
The new horror movie “Paranormal Activity” could be filling movie studio marketing departments with fear.