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.
A Thousand Cuts: The Tax Version
The Center for American Progress recently released " A Thousand Cuts," which detailed what spending cuts could be adopted to achieve primary budget...
CBO Says 2010 Deficit Slightly under $1.3 Trillion
CBO, in its most recent Monthly Budget Review, estimated that the FY 2010 budget deficit (the fiscal year that ended at the end of September) was just...
MARKETWATCH: October 4-8
There’s a chill in the air – and not just from the weather. Today’s weak job market news for September (the tough employment situation appears to be...
Wyden Calls for Tax Reform Before Tax Cut Debate
The Hill reports that Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) urged fellow lawmakers this week at a tax policy conference to focus on fundamental tax reform instead...
The World Debt Clock
The Economist has something pretty interesting up on its website: a global debt clock. The clock measures global debt held by the public (different...
Let’s Get Specific: Social Security
Social Security is getting a lot of attention these days. However, much of the discussion is centered on what not to do: don’t cut benefits; don’t...
CNN Exclusive: Stimulus Even a Deficit Hawk Could Love
CRFB President Maya MacGuineas offers some stimulus suggestions that balance aiding the economy in the short term with reducing the debt in the longer...
The Chairman Weighs in on Fiscal Rules
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke made a hard-hitting speech this evening about fiscal sustainability and fiscal rules. That Bernanke made the speech at all...
‘Line’ Items: (Fiscal) New Year’s (Lack of) Resolutions Edition
Should Old Performance be Forgot, and Never Brought to Mind? – The new fiscal year (2011) began on Friday. Instead of imbibing in champagne, CRFB...
No New Lending From TARP
Right on the two-year anniversary of its enactment, the Troubled Asset Relief Program's (TARP) authority to disburse new money ended on Sunday. The...
CBO Finds Tax Cuts Are Bad for the Economy
In testimony before the Senate Budget Committee last week, CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf quantified the impacts that extending some or all of the...