China has the world’s second-largest GDP, the world’s largest monetary base, and the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves. Its large internal and external economic imbalances can matter a great deal to the global economy. There are claims China is now rebalancing. It isn’t. Claims of rebalancing are based on the current account surplus, a broad measure of trade and other international activities that are concluded over a short period. China’s current account surplus with the world has fallen sharply as a percentage of GDP. However, the current account surplus tells … More
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The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate of the President’s budget reveals a reckless fiscal plan that shirks the spending cuts in the Budget Control Act and increases spending by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years. It confirms that Obama is the first President to preside over four years of deficits in excess of a trillion dollars. Moreover, it deepens the debt by $3.5 trillion. A few details: Higher Total Spending. In the CBO’s analysis, the President’s spending is $1.15 trillion higher between 2013–2022. Roughly half of the … More
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President Obama will release his annual budget proposal late yet again. Choosing the date is not merely a convention. By law, the President must release the budget by the first Monday in February, which falls on February 6 this year. Yet yesterday the Administration announced it will release its fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget a week late, marking the third such delay in four years. Right now, when the economy is struggling, annual deficits consistently exceed $1 trillion, and Americans are demanding that Washington govern responsibly, this delay is beyond … More
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