Ever since John Maynard Keynes, deficit spending has been a practical way to minimize the pain of recession and launch a recovery. But with deficits running high, those who believe deficits should be reduced right now are gaining in influence. Does austerity at this point make any sense? This...

This joint report by CEPR and the Political Economy Research Institute (University of Massachusetts, Amherst) gives an estimate of $177-354 billion in revenue that could be raised by taxing financial transactions in the United States.