Should we even have a debt ceiling?

Moody’s wants the United States to eliminate the debt ceiling, arguing that it adds uncertainty to the debt markets.

This would make for better policy, but I don’t agree with Ezra Klein who argues that it would also be good politics for President Obama to make this argument. The issue is too polarized at the moment.

  

The President’s economic team

Larry Summers (R), an economic advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama, and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner attend the announcement of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board in the East Room of the White House in Washington, in this February 6, 2009 file photo. Blunt, brash, brainy and occasionally self-mocking. Larry Summers, the White House economic adviser, is all of these things. In a career spanning academia, government and finance, he has rubbed some people the wrong way and infuriated others. To match SPECIAL REPORT - SUMMERS   REUTERS/Jim Young/Files  (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS HEADSHOT)

Here’s an excellent article on how the White House economic team is organized. When you read about the President’s economic advisers, this article can help you understand how they all work together. It can also help you understand how different personalities work together, from Christina Romer to Larry Summers to Tim Geithner.

Thanks to Ezra Klein for the link. Ezra also has a great post on how Larry Summers might now be the ideal candidate to run the National Economic Council, given the nature of his personality.

  

The pro-business recovery

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to a worker as he tours Gelberg Signs during a visit to highlight the administrations initiatives to create jobs in Washington on August 6, 2010. UPI/Kristoffer Tripplaar/Pool Photo via Newscom

Ezra Klein takes on the ridiculous notion that the Obama administration.

This White House has “vilified industries,” complains the Chamber of Commerce. America is burdened with “an anti-business president,” moans The Weekly Standard.

Would that all presidents were this anti-business: according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, corporate profits hit $1.37 trillion in the first quarter—an all-time high. Businesses are sitting on about $2 trillion in cash reserves. Business spending jumped 20 percent last quarter, and is up by 13 percent against 2009. The Obama administration has dropped taxes for small businesses and big ones alike. Maybe the president could be anti-me for a while. I could use the money.

The reality is that America’s supposedly anti-business president has led an extremely pro-business recovery. The corporate community has recovered first, and best.

He goes on to explain how deep recessions take time to recover. Read it for a dose of reality.

We shouldn’t be surprised, but less than a year after the largest bailout of Wall Street in history, somehow the government is anti-business. What a joke.

  

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