Outside the Beltway

They aren’t going to stop, but the cliches that pass for debate sure are tiresome (plus some musings about the tax cut extension debate).

The Senate rejected an effort to limit the extension of the Bush tax cuts based on income level. At this point, the only question is when Democrats will concede defeat on this debate.

Today’s job numbers make it clear that Congress has only one duty, and that is to do everything it can to stimulate real economic growth.

The Republican talking point that lowering taxes lowers spending and raising taxes increases spending is denied by reality.

There is a simple mathematical equation that explains why deficit reduction is so difficult.

According to a new poll, the Tea Party movement, which is largely now the base of the GOP, is not completely in step with the views of American voters as a whole.

Congress will vote on extending the Bush Tax Cuts in December, and new polling shows that the public agrees with Democrats that the cuts should be limited to the “middle class.”

Unless there’s an emergency, is it proper for representatives who have been defeated in a mid-term election to be voting on controversial legislation?

While not inherently unconstitutional, lame duck Congresses have the potential for violating the spirit of the Constitution and create the potential for mischief on the part of Representatives who have been thrown out of office.

The immediate reactions from left and right to the proposals from the Chairmen of the Debt Commission are about what you’d expect.

They’ve won the elections, but Republicans still aren’t getting specific about exactly where they’d cut Federal spending.

Ok, what strategy should Speaker Boehner pursue?

Congressional Republicans and President Obama both held press conferences today that included talk of bipartisanship and working together. Don’t believe it.

Is the public anger at Obama really just papered over racism?

Ok, so we’ve been talking about the Tea Party for months. What will that label means once we actually have elections and move on to the governing bit?

Republicans are promising two years of gridlock and obstructionism if they take control of Congress, but is that really what the people who are likely to vote for them next week really want?

Instead of decades-old retreads like talking about abolishing the Department of Education, it would be nice if we had a real debate about the fiscal circumstances in the country.

Remember that $400 tax cut President Obama gave you? Neither do 90 percent of Americans.

High earners are going to have to pay more than our fair share of the costs of government to make things work. But how we frame the debate matters.

Yesterday’s appearance by Carly Fiorina on Fox News Sunday provided an excellent example of how un-serious Republicans are when it comes to living up to their fiscally conservative rhetoric.

More on Greg Mankiw’s thought experiment on taxes and incentives to work.

Greg Mankiw argues that, the more of his money the government takes, the less incentive he has to earn more. That’s debatable.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife Virginia is under scrutiny ? Why ? Because she has a job.

Another month, another bad jobs report.

Vice-President Biden has a message for the Democratic base — stop complaining and just support us already.

The Democratic Party seems to have decided that the best way to begin the final leg of the midterm election campaign is with a legislative cave-in of epic proportions.

Some thoughts on the Pledge.

In 1994, it was the Contract With America. In 2010, it’s the Pledge To America. But does it really mean anything regardless of what it’s called ?

The CBO sees a clear threat of a fiscal crisis during the next two decades unless we’re saved by magic ponies.

Newt Gingrich is drawing fire for his comments about that the President has a “Kenyan world view.” But, will Newt every pay the price for his inflammatory rhetoric ? Don’t count on it.

The political fight over the extension of the Bush tax cuts took a very interesting turn today.

David Frum assesses the current state of right-of-center think tanks and the significance thereof.

According to Paul Krugman’s latest column, the massive destruction of World War Two was actually good for the U.S. economy. Sadly, there are people who consider him an expert.

Facing a difficult economy and a very bad November, the Obama administration is considering a tax cut proposal to spur hiring.

Aging Vietnam vets are being treated for diabetes and other ailments unrelated to their service on the taxpayers’ dime. We can’t afford it.

Some Democrats who support ending the Bush tax cuts for high earners want to exempt their own rich constituents.

A growing number of conservatives are in dismay about the state of their movement.

Should anyone care that Chelsea Clinton’s wedding was ridiculously lavish?

Twenty-five years after retiring as President Reagan’s Budget Director, David Stockman is back with a scathing indictment of Republican fiscal policies over the past four decades.

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan shared his views on extending the Bush tax cuts today on MTP.