There will never be enough taxes to make up for what the Mercury News says will be a $223 million federal cut. The county politicians have done nothing to reduce expenditures, and they've been negligent in not telling us the truth. It's obscene that County Executive James Williams would have asked for more in Measure A had there not been legal limits.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
Rumour has it that Rachel Reeves is limbering up for November with a Budget that will make the taxman's quill squeak like a stuck pig. Property, pensions, profits, pasties - all grist to the Exchequer's mill. The Treasury is leaving no stone unturned, no pocket unpicked, no cupboard unopened. The only thing, one suspects, that remains miraculously safe from her fiscal scythe is Larry the Cat's supper.
Ireland's fiscal policy looks pro-cyclical right now, which creates immediate risks such as overheating, and longer term risks such as the need to continue with a pro-cyclical fiscal stance in any downturn, thereby magnifying the downturn,
I worry about complacency. Fiscal room for manoeuvre is thin across the developed world, and the toolkit that helped during the financial crisis-large‑scale QE, in particular-can't be mobilised in the same way again. Yields have risen sharply but mostly in an orderly fashion; we've not had many "cliff‑edge" moments outside Japan. That doesn't mean we're safe. If market participants decide they will only finance governments at much higher rates, the spiral can be vicious. We're vulnerable to that kind of shift in sentiment.
The board, which will meet weekly, is designed to ensure closer coordination between No 10 and the Treasury after criticism of Chancellor Rachel Reeves's first Budget, which drew backlash from business groups over steep tax rises. The new structure will be co-chaired by Torsten Bell, pensions minister and former director of the Resolution Foundation, and Minouche Shafik, Starmer's recently appointed chief economic adviser.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto abruptly replaced Sri Mulyani Indrawati as finance minister, risking renewed financial turmoil for Southeast Asia's biggest economy following violent protests in recent weeks against his administration. Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, who has served as chairman of the Deposit Insurance Corporation since 2020, was sworn in as finance minister at a hastily-arranged ceremony late Monday. He said he is "a market person" who will keep Indonesia fiscally healthy.
In July, French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou proposed eliminating Easter Monday and Victory in Europe Day (May 8) from France's annual list of 11 public holidays. Outrage ensued, with political leaders from across the spectrum attacking the plan. Bayrou said the move would help France ease budgetary pressures. He is not the only one to come up with such a proposal.
Progressives were elated when Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani won an upset victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democrats' New York mayoral primary this past June. The 33-year-old self-described socialist's win "sends a clear message," Jared Abbott in . "A bold populist campaign and a laser-like focus on economic issues can break through to voters, even when insiders, billionaires, and the party establishment line up in opposition.