1. “OK, who thinks sequestration would cause the Fed to boost QE?”
If you’re raising your hand, then you think the zero nominal bound on interest rates isn’t a zero nominal bound on looser monetary policy. And you think that the Fed still has the power to counteract a fiscal contraction.
2. “A key message of POTUS’s minimum wage proposal: We don’t have the money to boost the Earned Income Tax Credit.”
Back in the 90’s, economists mostly praised the expansion of the EITC, commonly noting that it was a better option than raising the minimum wage. Back then, it was an affordable alternative.
3. “Liberal opposition + conservative support for means testing of retirement benefits is a puzzle.”
Not that there’s no solution to the puzzle: But it’s a puzzle. Liberals often oppose greater government benefits for the rich, conservatives often oppose marginal tax rate increases.