With tax day fast approaching, there is a considerable lack of clarity about what the tax code will look like this time next year. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are especially sensitive to current and expected tax policy given that they must make important, long-term decisions today on investment, hiring, and expansion. Accordingly, the highly uncertain outlook for U.S. tax policy has high stakes for their growth and survival. This paper examines the elements of three possible scenarios:
A central feature of the recent macroeconomic landscape is the housing market boom and bust. While many housing markets in the U.S. shared this experience, perhaps nowhere was it more dramatic than in Nevada; and the Las Vegas metropolitan area in particular.
In this short note, we compare the housing market performance of the Nevada/Las Vegas market to the U.S. as a whole. We find that the housing cycle in Nevada has had a greater magnitude, damaged household balance sheets more dramatically, and lags the U.S. in removing excess inventory and stabilizing prices.
Mon, 2012-04-02 16:45 |
Economy & Taxes | Ike Brannon
Yesterday the Japanese government officially lowered its corporate tax rate, leaving the United States with the highest tax rate among the ranks of developed countries. While a growing chorus on both sides of the aisle are calling to remedy this, there is no signs of it changing anytime soon.
Women pay more for health insurance than men, at least unless the law specifically precludes it. On March 19, the New York Times featured and article by Robert Pear on “gender gaps” in health insurance that rediscovered this fact of life. He then writes “The new health care law will prohibit such ‘gender rating,’ starting in 2014.
The phrase “opportunity cost” is the cost of giving up one thing in order to get something else.
In a family, “opportunity cost” may mean giving up eating out for dinner in order to save money for a family vacation or to replace a car that has seen better days.
In the federal government, “opportunity cost” most often means nibbling around the edges of a massive debt so tough, unpopular political decisions don’t have to be made before an election.
Mon, 2012-03-19 10:14 |
Budget & Economy | Gordon Gray
By the Numbers
Taxes: According to the Congressional Budget Office, the President’s Budget proposes increasing taxes as a share of the economy by over one and a half percentage point above historic norms.
President Obama swept into office promising his policies would reduce the deficit, keep unemployment below 8%, and usher in a new era of transparency and open government.
Nearly four years later, what Obama's policies have delivered are far from his promises.
Click below to download this one page document detailing where we were, where we are, and where things will head.
The indigestion you are feeling at the moment has nothing to do with the last meal you ate. It’s more likely that price you are paying at the pump that is creating that sinking feeling in your stomach, and that anxiety in your chest.
President-elect Obama took office when the price of gasoline was $1.83 per gallon. Today, it has very nearly doubled that price in many places throughout America.
Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else - like education and medical research; a strong military and care for our veterans? Because if we're serious about paying down our debt, we can't do both.
The American people know what the right choice is. So do I. As I told the Speaker this summer, I'm prepared to make more reforms that rein in the long-term costs of Medicare and Medicaid, and strengthen Social Security, so long as those programs remain a guarantee of security for seniors.
