Category Archives: Congressional Absurdity

Most Bizarre Reform Proposal Ever?

Posted on December 19, 2011 by

Face the Nation’s Bob Schieffer seemed to step off the deep end this past Sunday. He gave his short editorial at the end his show on congressional reform. His proposal is so far out there the line between sarcastic commentary … Continue reading →

Posted in Congressional Absurdity, Legislative Politics, Legislative Procedure | 2 Comments

Stocks and Members of Congress

Posted on November 14, 2011 by

This weekend 60 Minutes’ aired an excellent piece on members legally trading stocks on insider information. Earlier this year we reviewed some research on this exact topic. The authors find that representatives’ stocks do abnormally well compared to the average American … Continue reading →

Posted in Congressional Absurdity, Legislative Politics, Quick Hit | Leave a comment

And it happened…

Posted on August 6, 2011 by

This is what happens when you play chicken with an economic freight train. If you’re interested in academic takes on the credit downgrade, I recommend the following links: Layna Mosley, Seth Masket, John Sides and Ezra Klein. I’ll have more … Continue reading →

Posted in Congressional Absurdity, Political Economy | Leave a comment

Dodging the Ryan Budget: Republican Schadenfreude

Posted on June 23, 2011 by

Politico notes that the Ryan budget is quickly becoming a litmus test for Republicans.  The trick, David Catanese argues, is catering to conservative primary voters while dodging the unpopular Ryan budget for the general election. Across the Senate election map, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Congressional Absurdity, Elections, Primaries | Leave a comment

Members of Congress have Better Stocks Than You

Posted on May 31, 2011 by

Congress has had its share of financial, fundraising, and pork-barrel scandals. Well, add this to the mix. There is an interesting article in the Business and Politics Journal, by Ziobrowski, Boyd, Cheng, and Ziobrowski, on members’ stock returns. There are some … Continue reading →

Posted in Congressional Absurdity, Electoral Institutions | 3 Comments