tax

If you want to understand why the tax code is so hard to overhaul, consider the case of the mortgage interest deduction. The issue is so sensitive that the House and Senate are dealing with it in completely opposite ways.

Can we get real about “tax reform,” the Republican promise to enact deep tax cuts that will spur economic growth? Probably not, but let’s give it a try.

 A persisting puzzle about the U.S. economy is how it can seem both strong and weak. On the one hand, it remains a citadel of innovation, producing new companies like Uber. On the other, the economy is expanding at a snail’s pace of 2 percent annually since 2010. How could both be true? Why isn’t innovation translating into faster growth? The answer -- or part of the answer -- is that American businesses are running on two separate tracks. Call them the “youthful” and “middle-aged” tracks.

The argument between the Trump administration and its critics over a sustainable rate of economic growth raises profound questions about America’s future. Have we entered a prolonged period of slow growth? If so, how does that alter society and politics? Or will the “right” policies raise growth to past levels? 

If you haven’t paid attention, here’s a brief overview of the debate.

There are many ways to evaluate the Trump presidency at the six-month mark. What I am struck by is the path not taken, the lost opportunity. Donald Trump had many flaws, but during the campaign, he tapped into a real set of problems facing America and a deep frustration with the existing political system. Additionally, he embraced and expressed -- somewhat inconsistently -- a populism that went beyond the traditional left-right divide. What would things look like at this point if President Trump had governed in the manner of a pragmatic, jobs-oriented reformer who was relentlessly focused on the “forgotten” Americans of whom he often speaks?

House Republicans, who are now deliberating the government’s 2018 budget, pledge to eliminate deficits within a decade. Well, good luck with that. It must be obvious that chronic deficits reflect a basic political impasse that can be broken only if majorities in Congress do things they’ve refused to do: trim Social Security benefits; raise taxes significantly; control health spending. There is a giant mismatch between what Americans want from government and what they’ll pay for with taxes.

Disappointment is how Louis Cruz described his reaction to the closed door he encountered when he sought work for his company on the project City Hall and Conrail proudly announced recently to cleanup a section of railroad tracks in West Kensington where a filthy heroin abuse corridor has festered for nearly twenty years.

Senate Republicans have revised their health bill, in a desperate attempt to get it approved, and their new project has leaked to the media.

This case involves “retaliation” the federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals declared in the first sentence of the second paragraph of a recent ruling.

The only disagreement within the party is about how sharp-edged and left-wing that message should be. But it is increasingly clear that the problem for Democrats has little to do with economics and much more to do with a cluster of issues they would rather not revisit -- about culture, social mores and national identity.

Instead of working with Democrats in a bipartisan way to improve our current health care system, Republicans passed a bill that would allow insurers to bring back discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions.

Wednesday’s shooting at a congressional baseball practice was a ghastly example of the political polarization that is ripping this country apart. Political scientists have shown that Congress is more divided than at any time since the end of Reconstruction.