Everyone knows who the Democratic nominee will be. This gives Barack Obama all sorts of advantages. But unity and enthusiasm are not the same thing. Everyone in the family can agree to eat Aunt Sally’s leftover casserole, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be excited about it.

Congress is getting in the holiday spirit, and top on their gift list for American workers is extending President Obama’s payroll tax holiday, set to expire at the end of the year. But, as is the case with many gift ideas, this one sounds better than it is in real life.

Here is another good news/bad news column about the 112th Congress.

The chained Consumer Price Index can be used to index tax brackets and federal benefit payments.

The War Powers Act--which sets an arbitrary deadline for presidents to seek congressional approval for military engagements--is just one facet of a much more serious malady: acute buck-passing.

Export-related jobs are a huge and important driver of the U.S. economy, and the record of the Ex-Im Bank is clear: Using private funds and with minimal exposure to taxpayers, it has been a major driver of U.S. exports and a driver of jobs and corporate profits in the United States.

Joseph Antos' analysis of Medicare's fiscal crisis and reform options that could make the program sustatainable; a response to a request from 16 health professionals elected to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives for public comment on Medicare reform. 

Amid continuing partisan strife over the federal deficit, health care, and the EPA, buttressed by fanciful dreams and expenditures for "green technologies", Congress may well be on the verge of passing legislation that truly will enhance future U.S innovation and economic growth.