Blog: The Fine Print / Revenue & Spending

Alan Spoke -- Atlas Shrugged

Sep 20, 2007 by Dana Chasin

Because He Couldn't Hear Him NEWS ITEM: Greenspan in 1987 said he had "learned to mumble with great incoherence." (USA Today) I want to take this opportunity, on the occasion of a cycle of media coverage of the publication of a book by a certain former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board to express myself in no uncertain and certainly no less prolix terms than said chairman to say that certain sayings ascribed to the subject of this discursis were subject to such scrutiny as practically, if not irrationally, and often exhuberantly, to confer upon them the status of scripture.

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CBPP on President's Misleading SCHIP Stance

Sep 20, 2007 by Matt Lewis

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, President Bush reiterated his veto threat for any SCHIP expansion today. His objection now is that: "I want...the Congress to be focused on making sure poor children get the health insurance they were promised. Instead, Congress has made a decision to expand [SCHIP] eligibility up to $80,000." But Congress has never made that decision. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA):

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OMB Watch Supports Wartime Contracting Commission

Sep 20, 2007 by Matt Lewis

The Senate is now debating and amending the Defense Department authorization act. Sens. Jim Webb (D-VA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), along with all the other Democratic freshman Senators, are pushing an amendment that would set up a commission to investigate wartime contracting.

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FedSpending.org Adds New Data, Features

Sep 20, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

FedSpending.org has launched a new version today, with updated data from parts of FY 2006 and FY 2007, new features and search functionality, greater accessibility for people with disabilities, and a few bug fixes in the site. The site now contains contracting data through the second quarter of FY 2007 and federal assistance data through the first three quarters of FY 2006.

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Poverty and the Media

Sep 20, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Over a three year period (that included the Hurricane Katrina disaster), did the ABC nightly news run more stories about Michael Jackson or poverty? If you guessed Michael Jackson, you'd be right. See FAIR's study on poverty stories on network news shows for more.

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Tax Policy Trade-offs

Sep 20, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Prof. Mark Thoma of Economist's View gets real on disingenuous tax policy.

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Undoing The Damage To Child Support Programs

Sep 19, 2007 by Matt Lewis

The National Women's Law Center is getting ready to send a letter to Congress demanding a reversal in the 2006 cuts to federal child support programs. OMB Watch has signed on- and you can sign on your organization on this website. The deadline for sign-ons is this Friday.

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Venture Capital vs. Buyout Firms: An Industry Divided

Sep 19, 2007 by Dana Chasin

Carried Interest Lobby in Disarray In a surprising development, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) yesterday broke ranks with other industries that use the carried interest tax break, distinguishing themselves from buyout firms and hedge funds on the grounds that venture capital creates viable businesses -- and so deserves continuing special tax treatment -- while their private equity (PE) counterparts do not.

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Bush Tax Theory

Sep 19, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Alan Greenspan hit a hornet's nest when he disparaged the Bush fiscal policy record in his new book. Responding to Greenspan's comments, President Bush, yesterday: "I would also argue that cutting taxes made a significant difference, not only in dealing with a recession and an attack on our country, but it also made a significant difference in dealing with the deficit because the growing economy yielded more tax revenues, which allowed us to shrink the deficit." Vice President Cheney, today:

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The More Partisan Part of the Glass

Sep 18, 2007 by Dana Chasin

Billows of Budget Blather, Through the Glass Darkly Now let's have a look at the part of the fiscal responsibility glass that is half empty Newly-minted OMB director Jim Nussle dropped his charm offensive as nominee like a rock yesterday, insisting that the president will fight for this $933 billion domestic discretionary topline, come what may from Congress. His rhetoric with reporters raised the specter of a government shutdown, to which he replied, "I don't choose to speculate about a train wreck."

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