fiscal

This can't be good. A group of the biggest U.S. banks said they would stop accepting California's IOUs on Friday, adding pressure on the state to close its $26.3 billion annual budget gap. The development is the latest twist in…

This is effectively bankruptcy. Bloomberg reports. California is poised to begin its new fiscal year tomorrow without a plan in place to close a $24 billion deficit as the state prepares to conserve cash by issuing IOUs to vendors who are…

Here’s a good segment from CNBC with an interview from two city mayors, the mayor of El Centro, CA that has 26.9% unemployment, the highest in the nation, and the mayor of Flint, MI, which is imploding due to the decline in the U.S. car…

It’s not just California.  Tax revenue is falling everywhere. State income-tax revenue fell 26% in the first four months of 2009 compared to the same period last year, according to a survey of states by the nonprofit Nelson A.…

Yesterday, I argued that the United States faced a policy dilemma in avoiding debt deflationary forces while maintaining fiscal prudence. The reality is that President Obama faces political constraints in Washington right now regarding…

Last night I wrote an article reminding you that downside risk remains in the global economy.  While I have been singing a more bullish tuneregarding the prospect of a technical recovery in 2009, I am concerned about a double dip as a…

Alan Blinder, David Leonhardt, and Alan Auerbach talk about deficits.  Leonhardt had a well-regarded piece in the New York Times on the issue linked below. There are two basic truths about the enormous deficits that the federal…

You can see this coming.  It is looming and has been for some  time.  Remember that California is the biggest loser in the housing crash and it has one of the highest unemployment rates in the United States.  I have been warning that this…

Marshall Auerback here. Remind me again what Larry Summers was talking about when he spoke of the US as being a "nation of laws", where "sanctity of contract" is sacrosanct? In a case of first impression that could have far-reaching…

This post is a contribution from Rob Parteneau of MacroStrategy Edge about fiscal expansion, printing money, avoiding debt deflation, and U.S. treasuries. He has some great insights on deflationary spirals, the paradox of thrift and the…