09 | January | 2013

Sunday, May 26, 2013

‘Going green’ with all-electric and highly fuel-efficient vehicles creates challenges as revenues from gas taxes decline

Mark J. Perry | January 9, 2013, 11:17 pm

Editorial from The Olympian (WA): As state lawmakers begin gathering in Olympia for Monday’s start to the 2013 legislative session, the never-ending quest for new revenue that isn’t-a-tax-increase will continue. That should be sufficient motivation for the Legislature to consider … read more >

Carpe Diem

Housing affordability remains near historic high levels, which means the flourishing housing recovery will continue this year

Mark J. Perry | January 9, 2013, 6:04 pm

Housing affordability remains near all-time historical high levels, according to data released today by the National Association of Realtors, and suggests that the flourishing housing recovery that started last year will continue in 2013. For the month of November, the … read more >

Carpe Diem

‘Saudi America’s’ oil output went above 7m barrels per day last week for first time since March 1993, almost 20 years ago

Mark J. Perry | January 9, 2013, 4:42 pm

According to new EIA data released today, U.S. oil production surpassed 7 million barrels per day (bpd) last week for the first time since the first week of March in 1993, almost 20 years ago (see chart above). Compared to … read more >

Economics, Health Care

US national health care spending continues trend of slow growth

Thomas Miller and Catherine Griffin | January 9, 2013, 2:52 pm

Slowing down the economy, limiting job growth, discouraging private health coverage, penalizing capital formation, and reducing the rewards for risky innovation is a steep price to pay for lower health care costs. read more >

Image Credit: DrSmith 7383 (Flickr) (CC BY 2.0)

Foreign and Defense Policy, AfPak

Zero troops in Afghanistan = zero drone strikes in Pakistan

Marc Thiessen | January 9, 2013, 1:03 pm

The New York Times reports today that the Obama administration is considering doing what it did in Iraq, and withdrawing all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by 2014: On the eve of a visit by President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, the … read more >

Pethokoukis

GOP isn’t booing, they’re saying ‘Lew!’ No, actually they’re booing

James Pethokoukis | January 9, 2013, 12:37 pm

Unsurprisingly, President Obama is going to nominate Jack Lew, currently White House chief of staff, to replace Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary. Hardly a popular pick among Republicans since they view Lew as preachy and abrasive — though certainly a … read more >

Pethokoukis

Tax code complexity costs 3x more than Obama tax hikes

James Pethokoukis | January 9, 2013, 12:19 pm

The fiscal cliff deal is likely, according to Washington bean counters, to raise roughly $620 billion in new upper-income taxes over the next decade. In 2013, that works out to be about $50 billion. For comparison, the sheer complexity of … read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis, Taxes and Spending

The case for corporate tax reform in 1 chart

James Pethokoukis | January 9, 2013, 8:26 am

Through 2011, the United States had the second-highest combined corporate tax rate among advanced economies, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office. Actually, it’s worse than what the CBO says. Japan lowered its rate last year, and … read more >