I am delighted to provide my first official remarks of the new year here at the Rotary Club of Atlanta. I see 2013 as a pivotal year for national economic policy. Fiscal policy decisions were subordinated last year to the November elections. Congress and the administration deferred action on many of the stickiest fiscal questions, including the most basic question of how and when the federal government will take steps toward long-run budget sustainability. Electoral considerations gave fiscal authorities something of a pass for the year. I doubt that any such passes will be issued in 2013. Our fiscal imbalances are ... (full story)