In the Water, In the Air: Thursday, December 19, 2013

FISCAL FOLLIES -- DECEMBER 2013 CONTINUING RESOLUTION

How the budget deal helps Obama (John Podhoretz, New York Post, 12/17).

And the budget winner is ... the defense sector (Andrew Cockburn, Los Angeles Times -- Opinion, 12/20).

John Boehner’s Betrayal (Jenny Beth Martin, The New York Times -- The Opinion Pages, 12/19).

The 5 Biggest Myths About The Budget Deal (Stan Collender, stan collender's capital gains and games, 12/18).

Two and a Half Cheers for Ryan-Murray (Peter Ferrera, The American Spectator, 12/18).

FISCAL FOLLIES -- FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014 DEBT LIMIT

Lew warns Congress of February debt ceiling deadline (Reuters, CNBC -- Economy, 12/19).

The GOP's Phony Debt-Ceiling Threats (Joshua Green, Bloomberg Businessweek, 12/18).

DEFICITS AND DEBT

2013 Was the Year the Grand Bargain Died. Good Riddance. (Mark Schmitt, New Republic, 12/19).

ECONOMIC REPORTS

Jobless claims unexpectedly jump to highest level since March (Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times -- Business, 12/19).

Housing, jobs data weaken, but overall economic picture still upbeat (Lucia Mutikani, Reuters, 12/19).

Richard Florida, Mr. Creative Class, Is Now Mr. Rust Belt (Alec MacGillis, New Republic -- Cities, 12/18).

Chart Book: Federal Housing Spending Is Poorly Matched to Need (Will Fischer and Barbara Sard, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 12/18).

This Is The Most Important Chart Of 2013 (Matthew Boesler, Business Insider, 12/19).

Teaching the market monetarists about money (John Carney, CNBC -- NetNet, 12/18).

THE NATURE OF POLITICS

A More Machiavellian World than Ever (Gianni Riotta, RealClearWorld, 12/19).

REVENUE-SIDE REFORM

White House Tax Plan Would Be Grinch For Blue State Charity (Howard Husock, Forbes, 12/18).

Income Tax Deductions for Sales Taxes: A Step Away from Tax Fairness (Citizens for Tax Justice, 12/17).

America needs the Fair Tax, not more fiddling with the tax code (Robert C. McNair, Washington Examiner, 12/18).

Mortgage Interest Deduction Saves Middle Class Taxpayers All Of $51/Month (Anthony Randazzo and Dean Stansel, Forbes, 12/18).

Slammed by New Taxes: Why You’re Poorer Than You Think (David Koeppel, The Fiscal Times, 12/19).

SPENDING-SIDE REFORM

Is the West retiring early retirement? (Robert J. Samuelson, The Washington Post -- WP Opinions, 12/18).

The conservative contempt for the working person shows through (Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times -- Business, 12/18).

MIXED-SIDE AND REGULATORY REFORM

A Tax on Employing Poor People (Robert VerBruggen, RealClearPolicy, 12/18).

GSE Reform: FHFA Should Not Pursue Mortgage Principal Reduction Alternatives (John L. Ligon, Norbert J. Michel, Ph.D. and filip Jolevski, The Heritage Foundation, 12/17).

Don’t Get Too Excited About the Volcker Rule (William Greider, The Nation, 12/12).

GOVERNMENT FINANCE AND FINANCIAL POLICY

Fed 'taper lite' not a moment too soon (The Editorial Board, USA Today, 12/18).

‘Taper’ a bow, Ben (John Crudele, New York Post -- Business, 12/18).

Shiller on Trills (Alex Tabarrok, Marginal Revolution, 12/19).

Fed taper begins—what happens next? (Mohamed El-Erian, CNBC -- The Fed, 12/18).

Gridlock, Fed Taper Say Keynesian Experiment Ending (IBD Editorial, Investors.com, 12/18).

The Fed’s case for tapering is a good sign for the economy (Editorial Board, The Washington Post -- WP Opinions, 12/18).

Bernanke Leaves Yellen With a Massive Migraine (Peter Schiff, RealClearMarkets, 12/19).

Why Do So Many People Hate QE? (Barry Ritholtz, Bloomberg -- Opinion, 12/19).

PUBLIC PENSIONS

NYC’s coming pension crisis (Michael Bloomberg, Daily News, 12/19).