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Thursday, February 21, 2008
DAILY FISCAL POLICY REVIEW -- 02-21-08
Economy -- Slow Growth Ahead Says Fed:
- The Federal Reserve yesterday revised growth estimates downward to the 1.3 to 2 percent range for this year, compared to its 1.8 to 2.5 percent estimate in October. Despite yesterday's CPI figures, a 50 bp rate cut at the Mar. 18 FMOC meeting "would likely not contribute to an increase in inflation pressures"...
- But yesterday's inflation figures pose a problem for the Fed which, on one hand, does not want to vitiate the effect of the stimulus package but, on the other, is on the lookout for... That '70s Look: Stagflation
Earmarks -- E.O Examined: CRS has issued a report, Earmarks Executive Order: Legal Issues reviewing the legality and impact of President Bush's Jan. 29 Executive Order 13,457 to reduce the number and cost of congressional earmarks and requiring them to be included in the text of bills... The report concludes that the E.O. "may prove to be more a matter of political rather than legal significance."
Stimulus -- Strategy and Skepticism: For a critical backward glance, see our Assessing the Stimulus and the New Yorker's The Stimulus Strategy:
It's not ideal in its targeting -— Congress omitted policies that are especially effective in generating spending, including the extension of unemployment benefits and food stamps—but it does limit the rebates to families with incomes under a hundred and seventy-four thousand dollars. Given that two-thirds of all income taxes in the United States are paid by households that earn more than that, this is a startlingly redistributive move from an Administration not known for such measures.
Posted by Dana Chasin
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