by Dean Baker | Jan 28, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, Jobs and Growth, Retirement Security
The Republican Congress decided to make overhauling the Social Security disability program one of its first orders of business. On the first day of the new session it put in place a rule change that would make it difficult to address the shortfall the program is...
by Dean Baker | Jan 20, 2015 | Blog, Economy, Financial Reform
The House Democratic Party leadership made a remarkable step forward last week in putting out a proposal for a financial transactions tax (FTT). The proposal is part of a larger package which includes a substantial tax credit for workers, and also a limit on the tax...
by Dean Baker | Jan 14, 2015 | Conservatism, Economy
The U.S. House of Representatives recently adopted a new rule that requires lawmakers to take long-term macroeconomic effects into consideration when deciding how to vote on tax and spending bills. In theory, this could show that tax cuts, particularly for...
by Dean Baker | Jan 13, 2015 | Blog, Economy, Jobs and Growth
It’s rare that a week goes by in Washington without some major conference on inequality. This usually involves some prominent people, who get six or even seven figure paychecks, speculating on why inequality has grown and what we can do about it. These exercises...
by Dean Baker | Jan 9, 2015 | Jobs and Growth
The unemployment rate edged down to 5.6 percent in December from 5.7 percent in November (revised from an earlier reported 5.8 percent), the Labor Department reported today. However, the main reason was that 273,000 workers reportedly left the labor force. The...
