2016 U.S. presidential candidate Jeb Bush's Tax Plan that spells out details, and takes a shot at 4% growth for restoring lost social and economic mobility in the U.S.

09/09/2015

The efforts to wrestle with the deficit in 2011-2012 led to a vigorous debate on changing the tax code, yet political leaders failed to take up new ideas or spell out the details. Jeb Bush, with advisors Martin Feldstein and Kevin Warsh, takes the unconventional approach of putting in the details, and taking up ideas such as the idea of limiting itemized deductions to 2% of adjusted gross income proposed by Feldstein in that debate. On the $2.1 trillion in income held overseas by U.S. companies Bush proposes 8.75% tax paid over 10 years. On business investment he proposes capital investment be allowed to be deducted in full immediately. It is based on the idea that business investment can drive a vigorous recovery, that workers bear 50% of the burden of higer taxes through sluggish wage growth. It levels the playing field for debt and equity capital, removing "carried interest" provision, as a lesson from the excessive leverage taken by financial institutions in the past.

Linked Articles

The Bush Growth Plan

Wall Street Journal 09/10/2015

Editorial

New York Times 09/09/2015

Alan Rappeport, Alan, Rappeport, Matt Flegenheimer, Matt, Flegenheimer

Ban on election advertising on commercial television and radio in Britain and strict limits of $29.5 million for each party in general elections- contrast with the U.S.

05/02/2015

Britain disproves the popular belief that an ever upward trajectory for election spending is inevitable. The 2010 general election in Britain cost half that of the 1880 general election in 2002 prices, say researchers. In the U.S. spending has increased to the point where candidates may be spending more time fund raising than talking about the issues. The 2016 presidential election in the U.S. is estimated to lead to $10 billion in spending. India, Brazil, and other developing countries face a similar situation.

Linked Articles

Britain’s Campaign Finance Laws Leave Parties With Idle Money

New York Times 05/04/2015

Stephen Castle, Stephen, Castle

New York Times 05/02/2015

Eric Lichtblau, Eric, Lichtblau

Deep differences in 2015 between Alexis Tsipras of Syriza and the Merkel government in Germany on debt forgiveness and the bailouts for Greece

01/26/2015

The deep differences between Greeks and Merkel operate at two levels. On the level of austerity policies Greece shares the view with other EU countries, the governments of Hollande in France and Renzi in Italy that austerity is not the best course for the eurozone. This view is also shared by people in Spain facing unemployment exceeding 20%, though the government of Rajoy in Spain like that of Samaras in Greece lived with the austerity policies with some changes. At this level there is also support from within Merkel's coalition government from Social Democrats. The other level of deep differences is on debt forgiveness and bailouts where Greece has to find its own way out in negotiations hoping that the EU and the IMF will agree to make concessions based on action taken by Syriza to ensure prudence in fianncial management. On issues such as minimum wage one would expect Syriza to be firm and make concessions where the hardship does not fall on the poorer and working class, winning support from the Social Democrats in Merkel's coalition. Beyond the symbolic moves and posturing the actual negotiations are likely to take into account the eurozone's need for help on the fiscal side desired by the ECB's Draghi to support monetary easing to fight deflation, and the need to keep the eurozone intact at a sensitive time. Syriza for its part is aware that a majority of Greeks favor staying in the eurozone.

Linked Articles

Greece’s new prime minister wants Germany to pay for Nazi war crimes - The Washington Post

Washington Post 01/26/2015

Ishaan Tharoor, Ishaan, Tharoor

Washington Post 01/27/2015

Griff Witte, Griff, Witte

The miscalculations and missteps of Russian president Putin in 2014 leading to a major crisis for the Russian economy in 2015

12/18/2014

A major miscalculation was totally misjudging Merkel and post-war German public opinion about policies that remind people about the period between the two World Wars- this is anathema to Germans who see the European Union as a way to build a new and different Europe. The other miscalculation was on how a foreign adventurous policy in Syria would affect Sunni world opinion, in particular Saudi Arabia. Just as Brezhnev took Russia into Afghanistan where Russia had no vital interest leading to eventual Soviet collapse, Putin risked alienating a key member in OPEC pricing moves and hurting Russia's economic interest. By not listening to Kudrin, the head of Sberbank, and other economic advisers from the first and second terms of the Putin-Medvedev administrations, Putin opened the door to two years of serious missteps, risking the very real accomplishments of the first and second term of creating a stable growing Russian economy with close economic ties to Europe. The only positive outcome of the crisis and low oil prices would be making the shift away from oil dependence, which was talked about but never seriously attempted in the Putin administrations. For this to happen major new investments would have to be made and technology links to the outside strengthened, both hammered by the missteps in 2013-2014. The irony of all this is that Putin gained the support of rural Russians in the countryside in the 2012 presidential elections by promising no return to the economic crisis conditions following earlier ruble collapses. Now by ignoring Kudrin and other wiser counsel from the first and second administrations he does just that.

Linked Articles

Putin’s Year of Defiance and Miscalculation

Wall Street Journal 12/18/2014

Gregory White, Gregory, White, Anton Troianovski, Anton, Troianovski

Wall Street Journal 12/18/2014

Alexander Kolyandr, Alexander, Kolyandr, James Marson, James, Marson

Much needed boost from lower oil prices for eurozone countries Germany, France, Italy and Spain

10/09/2014

For countries like Germany in the eurozone with what Draghi calls "fiscal space" but did not use it, the drop in oil prices from $100 to $65 in 2014 offers relief at the right time to get back to growth in 2015.

Linked Articles

Falling Oil Prices Spur New Bets on Global Economic Growth

Wall Street Journal 12/08/2014

Ian Talley, Ian, Talley

New York Times 10/09/2014

Jack Ewing, Jack, Ewing, Alison Smale, Alison, Smale

Tim Cook's effort to fill the role played by Steve Jobs at Apple, and fill in gaps where Jobs could have done more

06/15/2014

Linked Articles

Tim Cook, Making Apple His Own

New York Times 06/15/2014

Matt Richtel, Matt, Richtel, Brian X. Chen, Brian, X., Chen

New York Times 06/16/2014

Brian X. Chen, Brian, X., Chen, Matt Richtel, Matt, Richtel

Emerging Markets 2014 financial crisis (1) - Argentina, Turkey and Thailand, shown to have failed to learn the lessons of the 1997 financial crisis

01/30/2014

Linked Articles

Emerging-Market Slide Tests How Much Nations Learned From Past

Wall Street Journal 01/30/2014

Ian Talley, Ian, Talley

Economist 02/04/2014

Economist.Com

The 150 million single children of parents, and the 61 million children of migrant workers- today's young generation in China growing up in unusual conditions

01/17/2014

The children of migrant workers were mostly brought up away from parents in rural areas by grandparents. The children born under a single child policy in urban areas had the opposite happen, with too much attention from doting parents. Both groups were raised in a manner not seen anywhere else in the world and face growing pains and lives with different burdens and needs than the rest of us. China's social and economic experiment may have come too fast, as policy planners may only now begin to realize. A lot may need to be done to address their needs and burdens, not so easily seen as the burdens of pollution and contamination whicha are easily observed.

Linked Articles

End of China’s One-Child Policy Stings Its ‘Loneliest Generation’

New York Times 11/13/2015

Javier C. HernÁndez, Javier, C., HernÁndez, Amy Qin, Amy, Qin

Wall Street Journal 01/17/2014

Andrew Browne, Andrew, Browne

China PBOC's efforts in early 2014 to slow and slightly reverse appreciation of the yuan and have it trade in a 2% up or down trading range

12/10/2013

PBOC continues to carefully manage the currency in 2014 by slightly lowering its value, with plans to widen the trading range up or down by 2%. The yuan appreciated by 2.9% in 2013.

Linked Articles

China Intervenes to Lower Yuan

Wall Street Journal 02/27/2014

Lingling Wei, Lingling, Wei

Wall Street Journal 12/10/2013

Alex Frangos, Alex, Frangos

Insights into the thinking of Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke for a strong labor market before increasing interest rates

07/18/2013

Yellen is expected to look beyond the unemployment rate target of 6.5% set by Bernanke in Dec. 2012, and give emphasis to the long term unemployed. Bernanke also mention the under employment rate as an additional factor to consider.

Linked Articles

Don’t Expect Job Data Alone to Persuade Fed on Rates

New York Times 01/23/2014

Floyd Norris, Floyd, Norris

Wall Street Journal 07/18/2013

Jon Hilsenrath, Jon, Hilsenrath, Victoria Mcgrane, Victoria, Mcgrane

Getting economic policy right- A second look at Japan, the European Union and the U.S. in 2014-2015

06/09/2013

In taking a second look, economists Stiglitz and Krugman ask if much derided Japan has avoided the worst effects of unemployment that have affected Spain, Italy, Greece, and France in the eurozone, and for the the long term unemployed in the U.S. And in doing so also avoided the widening income and wealth gaps opened up in the other industrialized countries.

Linked Articles

Apologizing to Japan

New York Times 10/30/2014

Paul Krugman, Paul, Krugman

New York Times 06/09/2013

Joseph E. Stiglitz, Joseph, E., Stiglitz

Governor Jerry Brown of California and investing in higher education- Brown's effort to replicate a remarkable feat under Edmund Brown

01/10/2013

Jerry Brown's father, Edmund Brown, was Governor of California in the 1960's when he helped build the UC and Cal State university system into a beacon for other states. The state's higher education system became a gateway into the U.S. middle class and powered the state's tech industry.

Linked Articles

Brown Looks at Reshaping California’s Higher Education

New York Times 01/28/2013

Jennifer Medina, Jennifer, Medina

Wall Street Journal 01/10/2013

Vauhini Vara, Vauhini, Vara