Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., knows how to look out for his constituents’ interests, at least their short-term ones, but his explanation of his dissent from the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction commission exposes one of the great ironies of U.S. fiscal policy.…
Dissecting the new tax deal
There are two ways of looking at the tax-and-unemployment-benefits-extension deal struck between President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans. If you are an optimist, it is the ‘least bad’ deal that could be struck in the current political climate and is…
Misunderstanding of GDP widespread
Most people who follow national news have a general idea of what is meant by gross domestic product, but they don’t understand all the details. That is as true for many reporters as for the general public. This results in…
Underfunded pensions offer all sorts of lessons
Friends tell me that my pride in St. Paul borders on chauvinism, so I usually am pleased when the city is ranked along with Boston, New York, Philadelphia or Chicago. But when a reader sent a scholarly paper by two…