What have Wall Street economists learned from watching Washington lawmakers duke it out over things like extending the payroll tax cuts?

The payroll tax cuts expire at the end of the year, and the clock is ticking to make a decision to renew them or not. Why can they help or hurt the economy?

We speak to Diane Lim Rogers, chief economist at the Concord Coalition, about some of the positives that could come out of the super committee failure.

As it looks more and more likely that the super committee will fail to reach a deal, a look back at previous attempts to solve the debt crisis.

The super committee is bumping up its deadline to reach a budget solution, and so far, no end is in sight.

As of now, the markets are still going on despite the likely lack of a deal in the super committee this week. But much of that depends on the situation in Europe, which could turn around.

Europe isn't the only one with debt concerns — the U.S. has a deadline in two weeks to figure out a way to cut down our own deficit. But that deadline might not be too firm.

Complaints against China and its ability to undervalue its currency have made their way to the U.S. Senate. The bill would impose tariffs on imports from countries suspected of such monetary maneuvers.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner heads to Congress today to deliver a report on the level of risk in the U.S. financial system.

Most Americans are not happy about what's going on in Washington. But commentator Rob Walker says playing the blame game isn't going to get us anywhere.