Policy Briefs

The President’s fiscal commission is dividing its work among three subgroups that will focus on taxes, discretionary spending, and mandatory spending for programs such as Social Security and Medicare.These working groups will meet on Wednesdays, on a rotating basis. The…

With President Obama’s bipartisan fiscal commission preparing for its first meeting tomorrow, some lawmakers are wisely urging its members to put a high priority on public engagement and listening to the views of Americans around the country.“Public forums should be…

Trustees of the Social Security system have long warned that as more and more baby boomers retired, Social Security would eventually start sending out more money in benefits than it was collecting from its payroll tax. At that point the…

President Obama's proposed budget contains increased immediate spending targeted at the continuing recession, but includes several measures and goals for long term deficit reduction, including a goal of slashing the annual deficit by roughly two-thirds by 2015. (more…)

Before leaving town in December, Congress raised the statutory debt limit by $290 billion to $12.39 trillion. This was a short-term patch that will only provide enough borrowing authority to last until mid-February. Congress must, therefore, address the issue again…