Originally published in the New York Times On its face, Friday’s announcement that the nation’s gross domestic product expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter was good news, following as it did an only marginally positive result for the previous three-month period. But, alas, that rosy headline figure masked disturbing signs: […]
Originally published in the New York Times President Obama’s new budget, released on Wednesday, is stuffed with constructive ideas. It bravely outlines concrete steps to begin fixing Social Security. It flouts today’s all-deficit-cutting, all-the-time mentality with important proposals for fresh spending on infrastructure and universal prekindergarten education. It includes detailed plans to close tax loopholes […]
Originally published in the New York Times Not surprisingly, troubled economic times often beget proselytizers of wacky, extreme ideas. The stagflation of the 1970s blessed us with damaging wage and price controls and the utterly counterintuitive supply-side notion — famously drawn on a napkin — that cutting taxes would lead to higher tax revenues. The […]
“[a] surprisingly modest account…Rattner has a journalistic talent for the telling detail, resulting in a memorable tale of life in the middle of the economic meltdown...Rattner deftly draws portraits of the inhabitants of "the Oval" and the West Wing...Rattner has proved himself a gifted chronicler.”
-Time Magazine
