Ethan Pollack's blog

Is the Recovery Act Working? You Bet It Is.

Submitted by Ethan Pollack on February 23, 2010 - 8:02am

Last Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the Recovery Act, also known as the “stimulus.” In the midst of the political gridlock that has stalled health care reform, it is easy to forget that President Obama started off his term with what undeniably was a major legislative accomplishment. In fact, the Recovery Act was one of the largest progressive achievements of our time, and one wonders whether Obama would still be considered inefRead more

The Case Against the Budget Commission

Submitted by Ethan Pollack on January 26, 2010 - 7:13am

The deficit is a funny political issue. On the one hand, it often riles up politicians, who use it as evidence that the government (and the party in power) is dysfunctional and isn’t responsible with taxpayers’ money. On the other hand, few of these same politicians actually propose doing anything specific to solve the problem. They usually just fall back on the old cliché of “cutting waste,” whatever that means.Read more

Shedding Light on the Deficit Problem

Submitted by Ethan Pollack on January 18, 2010 - 5:04pm

With a growing chorus of support for the establishment of an independent budget commission, I thought it wise to weigh in. But before we get to the budget commission itself, let’s first discuss the underlying policy issue: deficits.
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Beware the Flat Tax Sales Pitch

Submitted by Ethan Pollack on December 1, 2009 - 6:41pm

I had planned my next post to be about the work the Economic Policy Institute has been doing in the last few weeks, including an event on state and local budget relief and the release of a five-point plan for creating jobs and ensuring a robust recovery.Read more

What Exactly Is a Sustainable Fiscal Future?

Submitted by Ethan Pollack on October 25, 2009 - 3:31pm

This Wednesday, YPNation is hosting a panel discussion on the sustainability of our fiscal future; I will be one of the three speakers. My post today is a preview of my argument for how we should approach the topic of our fiscal future, and what our policy goals should be.
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Is Government Making it Worse? The Evidence Says No

Submitted by Ethan Pollack on October 8, 2009 - 7:49pm

I appreciate Ewan’s response to my last post on how recessions are like fires that must be put out. But his post has left me confused, and—I’m sorry to say—more convinced that ideological opponents to fiscal stimulus are economic nihilists. Maybe ‘nihilists’ is too strong a word. Let’s go with fatalists.
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A Primer on Our Burning Economy

Submitted by Ethan Pollack on October 1, 2009 - 4:55pm

The criticism of the stimulus package has revealed something that many of us in the policy world often suspected—most people still don’t understand recessions. Sure, they understand what they are. After all, they are feeling this one far more acutely than those of us in the somewhat recession-proof D.C.Read more

Calling China's Bluff

Submitted by Ethan Pollack on September 18, 2009 - 3:55pm

Greetings YPNationers! I’m delighted to be here. As a new contributor, I had planned on waiting a few days to post—perhaps dip my toe in next week—but then I saw YPNation contributor Jake Bolinger’s post on one of my favorite topics: China’s U.S. debt holdings. So here I am.
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