Policy Briefs

Voters are going to the polls today without sufficient information from the presidential candidates about how they would deal with the nation’s growing debt and unsustainable fiscal path. Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert L. Bixby writes in a recent Ripon…

Several notable changes to the funding and benefit structure of Social Security will be coming next year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced last week. The nearly 25 percent of Americans who claim Social Security benefits will see a cost-of-living…

The third and final presidential debate last week failed to provide voters with credible and specific proposals for putting the federal debt on a sustainable path. “Donald Trump’s suggestion that economic growth alone can solve the problem is not realistic…

Three congressional candidates in New Hampshire expressed concerns about the federal budget and discussed possible solutions in live-audience television interviews at a “Fiscal Fridays Festival” in Concord last week. The event was co-sponsored by NH1, The Concord Coalition and the…

The federal deficit jumped to $587 billion in Fiscal 2016, up from $439 billion the previous year, the Treasury Department reported Friday. As a percentage of GDP, the deficit increased to 3.2 percent, up from 2.5 percent in Fiscal 2015.…

In tomorrow night’s presidential debate, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump should have a good opportunity to address some of the critical fiscal choices that await the next president and Congress. Two earlier presidential debates failed to provide voters with much…

Despite the professed interest of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in discussing important issues, the second presidential debate on Sunday was another missed opportunity to seriously address the enormous fiscal challenges that will face the next president and Congress.…

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated Friday that the federal deficit for Fiscal 2016 totaled $588 billion, an increase of $149 billion over the previous year. The deficit for Fiscal 2016, which ended Sept. 30, equaled an estimated 3.2 percent…