Blog

Welcome to our blog – The Bottom Line, where you’ll find up-to-date commentary and analysis on the most important news in the fiscal world. Below is a list of our blog posts.

Jul 12, 2019 | Budgets & Projections

CBO's Long-Term Debt Outlook Improved Slightly from Last Year, Here's Why

In its latest Long-Term Budget Outlook, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects debt held by the public will rise from over 78 percent of...

Read More +

Jul 10, 2019 | Taxes

Are There $1.6 Trillion in Tax Loopholes?

Former Vice President and 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden told the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Convention on June 28 that the tax code contains $1.6...

Read More +

Jul 10, 2019 | Other Spending

New Pension Bill Adds Too Much to the Debt

The House Ways and Means Committee is considering pension reform legislation that CBO estimates will add $64 billion to deficits over the...

Read More +

Jul 1, 2019 | Budgets & Projections

Gene Steuerle: Alice Rivlin: The George Washington of the Congressional Budget Office

Dr. Eugene (Gene) Steuerle is an Institute fellow and the Richard B. Fisher chair at the Urban Institute and a member of the Committee for a...

Read More +

Jul 1, 2019 | Budgets & Projections

Saving Social Security and Medicare Could Help Fix the Debt

The Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) Long-Term Budget Outlook shows debt rising continuously as a share of the economy over the next 30 years and...

Read More +

Jun 28, 2019 | Budget Process

David Walker: It is time to confront fiscal failure

David Walker is a former Comptroller General of the United States (head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office) and past board member of the...

Read More +

Jun 27, 2019 | Taxes

Would a 10% VAT Pay for a $1,000 per Month UBI?

During the first 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate, candidate Andrew Yang claimed that his Universal Basic Income (UBI) proposal of $1,000...

Read More +

Jun 27, 2019

Mike Murphy: The question to ask in 2020

Mike Murphy is the director of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's FixUS initiative. He recently wrote an opinion piece ...

Read More +

Rising Debt Will Reduce Income Per Person

Jun 26, 2019 | Economics

CBO: Fixing the Debt Would Increase Income

Putting debt on a downward path could increase average income by almost $9,000 per person per year, or about 10 percent as compared to continuing on...

Read More +

Jun 25, 2019 | Economics

Maya MacGuineas: America's Biggest Weakness is No Big Secret

Maya MacGuineas is president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and head of the Campaign to Fix the Debt. She recently wrote an...

Read More +

Jun 25, 2019 | Budgets & Projections

CBO Releases 2019 Long-Term Outlook

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just released its 2019 Long-Term Outlook, again confirming the budget’s unsustainable long-term trajectory....

Read More +

Jun 25, 2019 | Taxes

Repealing SALT Caps Would Cost Another $500 Billion

The Ways & Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures is holding two hearings today on limitations to the state and local tax (SALT...

Read More +

Jun 20, 2019 | Taxes

Tax Extender Package Could Lead to $710 Billion of More Debt

Update 6/24/2019: During markup, the Ways & Means Committee added an amendment further increasing the child tax credit for young children, at an...

Read More +

Jun 13, 2019 | Health Care

Lawmakers Shouldn't Repeal Cadillac Tax Without Substantial Offsets

A bill to repeal the "Cadillac tax" on high-cost health insurance plans may soon get a vote on the House floor. This tax was an important part of the...

Read More +

Jun 12, 2019 | Social Security

Event Recap: Disability Policy for the 21st Century

On Thursday, June 6, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the McCrery-Pomeroy SSDI Solutions Initiative hosted an event on "Disability...

Read More +