by Stan Collender | Mar 4, 2013 | The Sequester
How did the sequester happen? How is it possible that what supposedly was the worst possible way to cut the deficit somehow became what actually happened? Over the weekend Ezra Klein, in a much retweeted blog post that was the talk of large parts of the political...
by Stan Collender | Feb 22, 2013 | The Sequester
The Clinton administration didn't play as much hardball as it could have during the 1995 and 1996 federal shutdowns because it decided that the air traffic control system was a critical government activity. Doing the opposite -- and it definitely was a discretionary...
by Stan Collender | Feb 21, 2013 | Blog
A quick post about the new Bowles-Simpson plan that was announced yesterday because that's all it deserves: It's a total nonstarter. (If you haven't heard about it, here's Jeanne Sahadi's story from CNMoney.) Bowles and Simpson didn't have enough support to get their...
by Stan Collender | Feb 12, 2013 | Blog
Quick note about tonight's State of the Union Address: I'm not expecting too much to be said about the budget, deficit or debt. There are four reasons. First, as much as a budget person likes me hates to admit it, all three of those topics are highly contentious,...
by Stan Collender | Feb 11, 2013 | Blog
Anyone who thinks H.R. 325 -- the No Budget No Pay law that House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) wants everyone to believe will do so much and be so important -- will, in fact, make any difference is both falling for Boehner's spin and doesn't understand how the...
