Roll Call
My column from today's Roll Call talks about how politics that use the deficit (as opposed to concerns about the deficit itself) have undermined the ability to deal with the budget and economy.
Good Politics Often Results In Bad Budgeting
June 22, 2010
It’s hard not to have real questions about how much of the current concern about this year’s deficit is real or just something that has been hyped for partisan political reasons. Over the past 50 years the deficit often has been just a surrogate for other issues and purposes, and much of what’s happening now seems to fit that characterization.
My column from yesterday's Roll Call explains why...starting in 3 weeks...the dismal budget situation in the states is going to make the job of budget policymakers in Washington much more difficult.
States Point Way for Budget; Will Policymakers Listen?
June 8, 2010
The start of the federal fiscal year was changed from July 1 to Oct. 1 when the Congressional Budget Act was signed into law in 1974. This was a momentous change for federal budget policymakers who had to figure out what to do with the “transition quarter” — the three months between the end of the old fiscal 1976 and the beginning of the new fiscal 1977. But the new start date meant little for the states, and few changed their fiscal year as the federal government did. As a result, in about three weeks, fiscal 2011 will begin in 46 states.
My column from today's Roll Call says something seldom said in mixed company about reducing the deficit: whether it's tax breaks or spending programs, the federal government is going to have to stop doing something...or things.
The Not-So-Secret Truth About Deficit Cutting
June 1, 2010
Forget everything you’ve heard about how hard it is to cut the federal deficit. Once you disregard the partisan rhetoric and put aside the election-year demagoguery, you rapidly come to a conclusion that is seldom stated as directly as this: The federal government is going to have to stop doing some of the things it’s currently doing.
My column from today's Roll Call explains how and why Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was saying two things last week: that spending cuts at the Pentagon are coming and that spending cuts at the Pentagon will be limited.
Gates to Pentagon: Prepare for Budget Pain
May 11, 2010
Most of the attention last week may have been paid to the gyrations in the stock market, the debate on Wall Street reform in the Senate, the continuing efforts to clean up the oil in the Gulf of Mexico, the election in the U.K., and the continuing competition between “American Idol” and “Dancing With the Stars” to be the most-watched program.
My column from today's Roll Call (subscription needed) says we've had enough set-up for a deficit reduction package.
What’s Needed on Deficit: Less Talk, More Action
May 4, 2010
You might be familiar with the song because you’re old enough to remember when it hit the charts in the late 1960s or because over the past few years you watched the NBC television show “Las Vegas,” which used it as a theme. Either way, Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation” was an upbeat plea for less talk and more action.
My column from today's Roll Call tells you everything you need to know about how much an be learned about the U.S. budget from the Iceland volcano.
Federal Budget Lessons From the Iceland Volcano
April 27, 2010
No, this is not a column about the airlines and travel industries requesting some type of emergency federal aid because of the volcano in Iceland that wreaked havoc over the past few weeks on flights to and from Europe. Instead, the volcano may have erupted just in time to help settle one of the longest-running annual budget fights in Washington: the use of a baseline.
At some point in the coming weeks as the Senate continues to consider a budget resolution for fiscal 2011 and the House ponders whether to consider one at all, someone on Capitol Hill is going to say something to the effect that only in Washington could a spending increase be considered a cut.
My column from today's Roll Call explains why all of last week's protests about taxes should be taken with a grain, if not a whole shaker, of salt.
Tax Complainers Only Looking at One Side of Budget
April 20, 2010
Between the perennial use of April 15 to protest federal taxes, all of the misguided hype about something called tax freedom day, and the public relations stunts staged by tea party folks, you had to look very hard last week to realize that the federal government spends as well as taxes and actually does things for people rather than just demands financial tribute from them.
My column from today's Roll Call was drafted the day before the Obama 2011 budget was released yesterday and then quickly updated to include some key facts and make my deadline. It's a view from 100,000 feet of what's ahead the rest of this year. Much more to come.
Obama’s Budget Shows the Tensions Between Jobs and Deficit
Feb. 2, 2010
What did the president really mean last week when he turned to his left from the podium, looked straight at the Republicans, and stated, “That’s how budgeting works”?
Although it was published this morning, this column from today's Roll Call was written last Thursday and we now know that the Obama fiscal 2011 budget will be submitted to Congress on February 1. Hopefully this will help you get in the mood for what's ahead.
Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker (R-TN) once said that the first budget proposed by President Reagan was a "riverboat gamble." My "Fiscal Fitness" column from today's Roll Call explains why this year's debate may more approprately be compared to Texas Hold 'em.
