It is a foregone opportunity that we could have a trillion dollars more of income for the United States if we were producing at capacity rather than falling so far short of it.

For example, I was privileged to be working at the White House under the Clinton administration and had not finished my Ph.D., and I thought I was the cat's meow.

My mom is a very warm, typical sort of Jewish-mother type. And my dad has a somewhat, um, different personality.

Well, I think what we need to remember is that budget deficits can impede economic activity.

Total borrowing has imploded. Private borrowing has collapsed. And, in effect, the Treasury Department is the last borrower left standing.

The government could either raise $100 by selling allowances and then give that amount in cash to particular businesses and individuals, or it could simply give $100 worth of allowances to those businesses and individuals, who could immediately and easily transform the allowances into cash through the secondary market.

Well, a deficit reflects an imbalance between spending and revenue, and so narrowing it requires acting on one, the other or both.