QUOTE OF THE DAY

CNBC: Ugh, Recession Is Now More Likely

Here is a simple way to think about the political calculus of Washington's latest twists and turns. And — unfortunately — it suggests that economic and market dislocations may be needed to get our politicians to cooperate and govern properly.

A major issue from day one was the extent to which the lack of trust between our political parties undermined Washington's ability to govern.

MarketWatch: Cutting corporate taxes would stimulate economy

In the tax battle of the fiscal cliff, there’s one area of agreement: lower corporate tax rates.

President Obama and the House Republicans have both proposed lowering corporate tax rates. Last week the White House told Republicans that corporate tax reform was on the table, based on the president’s February proposal, which would lower the corporate tax rate to 28%.

Yahoo! Finance: Boehner’s No-Brainer; Let The White House Own It

It's being called a failure, a miscalculation and a move that could even cost House Speaker John Boehner his job, but in reality, it's the country that ends up losing. Sure, the Ohio Republican failed to get enough support within his own party to pass his "Plan-B" proposal to avoid the Fiscal Cliff. But even if he had gotten the votes and it passed the House, the bill that would have extended tax cuts on anyone earning less than a million dollars was facing certain death in the Senate and the White House.

Reason: Years Without a Santa Claus

On May 11, 1659, the Massachusetts General Court banned Christmas. More specifically, it outlawed "observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way." Miscreants would be fined five shillings. The law stayed in force until 1681, when the mother country's disapproval compelled the colony to repeal it. The local authorities continued to denounce the December holiday long after it became legal. "Christmas-keepers," the Harvard rector Increase Mather complained in 1687, were doing something "highly dishonourable to the name of Christ."

Investors Business Daily: Community Reinvestment Act Promoted Risky Lending

Democrats and the media insist the Community Reinvestment Act, the anti-redlining law beefed up by President Clinton, had nothing to do with the subprime mortgage crisis and recession.

But a new study by the respected National Bureau of Economic Research finds, "Yes, it did. We find that adherence to that act led to riskier lending by banks."

Baltimore Business Journal: Maryland Tries To Convince Doctors To Accept Medicaid

Health care leaders are looking for ways to entice more doctors to treat patients covered by Medicaid in time to treat the thousands of additional Maryland residents expected to enroll in the program in 2014.

Up to 100,000 additional residents will newly qualify for the insurance program that year under federal health reform. If there are too few doctors to treat those patients, these patients may turn to emergency rooms for basic care — an expensive alternative — or go without treatment.