Matt Miller
11/25/2010

The anti-tax rhetoric has reached a fever pitch, and the Thanksgiving holiday allows us a moment to pause and consider a different mode of response. Given the considerable sacrifice made by our armed services and the invaluable benefits of a distinctly American culture and history, citizens should consider a reasonable tax burden as a worthy investment back into the nation’s ongoing maturity. Restoring the marginal tax rate on top earners will not be sufficient to deflect the growing debts from foreign wars and social services, but it is a necessary first step to stabilizing the national debt.

Miller is a weekly columnist for The Post’s online edition.

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Charles Krauthammer
11/26/2010

Despite more urgent issues on the table (such as unemployment and tax ambiguity), President Obama considers his New START treaty of the utmost importance. But in these post-Soviet days the Russians are no longer a significant threat no matter how many weapons they amass. This is because it is not the number of weapons but the nature of the regime controlling them that is the issue. While much of the New START treaty with Russia is simply an irrelevant distraction, the fact that the president is ignoring the very real threat posed by the nuclear proliferation in North Korea and Iran is troubling and dangerous.

Krauthammer is a weekly columnist for The Post, writing on foreign and domestic policy and politics.

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Paul Krugman
11/19/2010

China, Germany, and the Republican Party are all trying to bully the Federal Reserve into calling off its job-creation efforts. Krugman says their motives are suspect. He calls the three the Axis of Depression. China and Germany don’t want the dollar to fall because it would make US goods more competitive, and a smaller US deficit would then cause them to run a deficit. Republicans’ reasons are odd and incoherent since the Fed is following the policies of none other than Milton Friedman. Krugman says Republicans are afraid that if the Fed succeeds and helps the economy, it would foul their election chances in 2012.

Krugman is a New York Times columnist.

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Ian Holliday
11/19/2010

Aung San Suu Kyi’s release has generated important political possibilities for Burma, says Holliday. Beyond Burma’s borders, key powers are generally supportive of change. China seeks above all a stable, prosperous, and friendly Burma, and has long urged military rulers to embrace national reconciliation and incremental reform. India has no problem with this agenda. The US wants faster progress but is pushing too hard after many years of policy failure. The odds therefore remain stacked against Ms. Suu Kyi. However, by signaling that talks are now possible without preconditions and that sanctions may be debated, she has created an important political opening. For generals keen to settle a fractious nation and bring in Burma from the cold, the offer placed on the table could be enticing.

Holliday is dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Hong Kong.

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Benjamin Wittes and Jack Goldsmith
11/19/2010

The conclusion of Ahmed Ghailani’s trial has brought forth considerable criticism of President Obama’s insistence that such cases proceed in civilian federal courts. However, the popular alternative of a military tribunal is equally fraught and problematic; the detractors have not considered the unique difficulties of that venue or the likelihood of a similar result. The real alternative is continued military detention without trial. An acquittal outcome, risked in either venue, would present disastrous alternatives and should not be risked when an acceptable course of action is available.

Wittes is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Goldsmith teaches at Harvard Law School and served as an assistant attorney general in the Bush administration. Both are members of the Hoover Institution’s Task Force on National Security and Law.

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George F. Will
11/18/2010

In 1977 Congress gave the Federal Reserve a “dual mandate” to “promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices and moderate long-term interest rates.” Given this mandate, the Fed has begun to print $60 billion, essentially creating another stimulus under the name of “quantitative easing.” Will points out that “maximizing employment” is a political role that has expanded to include staving off all the social ills that come with unemployment, from low self-esteem to violent crime. A repeal of the dual mandate is essential to prevent the Fed from becoming ruinously intertwined with politics.

Will is a twice-weekly columnist for The Post, writing about foreign and domestic politics and policy.

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Betsy McCaughey
11/18/2010

In 1933, Americans ratified the 20th Amendment to eliminate lame duck Congresses. Yet McCaughey says Washington has been ignoring its intent for two decades, hurrying back to the capital after Election Day to deal with spending bills and controversial legislation they deliberately had avoided before the election. When John Boehner, the presumptive House speaker, takes charge in January, he should introduce a bill providing that Congress will not meet between the November 2012 election and Jan. 3, 2013. That simple change in the law will put the voters back where they always belong: in charge.

McCaughey, a former lieutenant governor of New York state, is the author of “Obama Health Law: What It Says and How to Overturn It” (Encounter Books, 2010).

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Dana Milbank
11/18/2010

Nancy Pelosi has won the minority leader post in the incoming Congress through a bruising process. 68 Democrats preferred to postpone the decision in a clear vote of no confidence in the outgoing Speaker. Departing members spoke frankly to the media of the difficulty she presented them in their bids for re-election and the challenges of leading after presiding over such deep losses. Democrats are concerned that her continued leadership will not connect with American voters who have spoken decisively against the Congress’ record under her watch.

Milbank writes about political theater in the nation’s capital.

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Ruth Marcus
11/17/2010

Marcus was surprised not to read any fiscal regret in Bush’s “Decision Points.” In fact, not only does Bush take credit for a budget surplus that was already in place when he took office, but he also claims the surplus didn’t really exist. Bush does admit that he left a legacy of “run-away entitlement spending” but blames that on congressional resistance. Between Bush’s tax cuts, the war, and the Medicare prescription drug plan, President Bush inherited a healthy budget and “left it in tatters,” says Marcus.

Marcus is an editorial writer for The Post, specializing in American politics, campaign finance, the federal budget and taxes, and other domestic issues.

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