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Mitt Romney tried doggedly Wednesday to sidestep the political furor he had started a day earlier by revealing he pays federal taxes at a rate of about 15 percent, less than millions of middle-income American families. Newt Gingrich, his main rival in this weekend's South Carolina primary, poked at Romney anew and disclosed he personally pays more than twice that.
Iowa and New Hampshire have had their say. Next up are South Carolina and Florida, with Germany and France lurking in the background.
What gives? Some of Mitt Romney's rivals are waging a fierce attack that you'd never think would come from the mouths of Republicans who claim Ronald Reagan as their hero. They're blasting the GOP front-runner for aggressive, wealth-creating business tactics.
For the intertwined U.S. economy and presidential politics, it was a year of twists and unexpected turns.
Is there any downside to extending federal jobless benefits, as Congress is about to do? The benefits are a crucial lifeline to the longtime unemployed. But they also can be a disincentive to looking for work and prolong joblessness, economists say, as lawmakers weigh shortening them.
Finally, a flicker of economic hope for President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats, even if it's a faint one.
Europe's deepening debt crisis is echoed in the United States by the inability of President Barack Obama and Congress to strike a bipartisan deficit deal.
President Barack Obama's close attention to the Asia-Pacific region signaled both a turn toward a part of the world experiencing solid growth and one away from Europe's dark economic woes, at least temporarily.
On jobs and taxes, the top Republican presidential rivals are locked in a fierce game of one-upmanship. They're all trying to outdo each other in offering the boldest economic plan for the campaign to unseat President Barack Obama next November.
Conservative Republicans have long clamored for government downsizing. They're starting to get it — by default.
The richest 1 percent of Americans have been getting far richer over the last three decades while the middle class and poor have seen their after-tax household income only crawl up in comparison, according to a government study.
The government is reporting that 50 percent of U.S. workers earned less than $26,364 last year, reflecting a growing income gap between the nation's rich and poor.
After the U.S. avoided a government budget crisis in the nick of time for third time this year, the public seems fed up with the nonstop partisanship that led to the close calls.
It's the third time this year a government budget crisis has been averted just in the nick of time. And the public seems plain fed up with the nonstop partisanship that led to the nerve-racking close calls.
Even if Congress heeds President Barack Obama's demands to "pass this bill right away" and enacts his jobs and tax plan in its entirety, the unemployment rate probably still would hover in nosebleed territory for at least three more years.
Even if Congress passes President Barack Obama's jobs and tax plan right away the jobless rate will probably still hover in nosebleed territory for at least three more years.
America's sickly economy can be healed with jobs, jobs and more jobs. On that, everyone agrees. Figuring out how to produce them is what is stumping everyone.
Americans' views on the economy have dimmed this summer. But so far, the growing pessimism doesn't seem to be taking a toll on President Barack Obama's re-election prospects.
It's the loud and clear consensus of Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail: Runaway government spending is the problem, not taxes.
It has been a lousy month for President Barack Obama. And August is not yet 2 weeks old.
The S&P downgrade was more of a statement on the toxic political landscape in Washington than a comment on the nation's ability to pay its bills. But S&P has its own checkered history. Just a few years ago, the company gave its top triple-A rating to some of the mortgage-backed securities that helped cause the Great Recession.
Anger at the nation's leaders for taking so long to strike a debt-ceiling deal has turned into high anxiety over jobs and the economy amid growing fears of a new recession.
If the government can't pay all its bills come Wednesday, odds are it will pay bondholders. Social Security and Medicare recipients will be high on the must-pay list, too. Likely losers: federal workers in jobs deemed non-essential, private contractors and state and local governments.
Ronald Reagan might as well be sitting in on the troubled debt talks, so frequently is his memory invoked by both sides.
Ronald Reagan might as well be sitting in on the troubled debt talks, so frequently is his memory invoked by both sides. But for vastly different reasons. Conservative Republicans praise the 40th president's steely advocacy for smaller government and lower taxes.
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