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.
Administration's FSA Change Adds to Debt
The Obama Administration made an administrative change today to rules regarding Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) that could cost taxpayers hundreds...
Gimmicks at Their Worst: The War "Savings" Gimmick
As lawmakers look to replace the sequester with smarter deficit reduction, it may be tempting to look for easy ways out. Unfortunately in recent...
Another Poll Shows Strong Support for a Comprehensive Deficit Reduction Plan
As if we needed more proof that the country is ready to deal with our debt problem, the Peterson Foundation today released the results of a new poll...
Wessel: Why It's Wrong to Dismiss the Deficit
Two weeks ago, we responded to a Larry Summers op-ed calling for a focus on growth rather than deficits. Yesterday, Wall Street Journal economics...
Short-Term Deficits May Be Shrinking, But Long-Term Problem Remains
Update: This blog has been updated to include the Mid-Session Review and CBO projections for the 2013 deficit. Yesterday, the Treasury Department and...
The Tax Break-Down: the FICA Tip Credit
This is the thirteenth post in our blog series, The Tax Break-Down, which will analyze and review tax breaks under discussion as part of tax reform...
SSA Announces New COLA
Yesterday, the Social Security Administration announced that beneficiaries will be receiving a 1.5 percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) this year...
Jim Nussle: For Budget Conference, Start With The Pizza
Today was the first meeting of the budget conference committee negotiating over this year's discretionary spending levels. Although the first meeting...
The Budget Conference Committee's First Meeting
The first meeting of the budget conference committee is today! The committee will have a month and a half to reconcile the House and Senate-passed...
Line Items: Trick or Treat Edition
Conference Calls – While many of us prepare for a spooky adventure Thursday night, the day before will mark the beginning of another eerie undertaking...
Daschle: Now's the Time for Entitlement Reform
In an op-ed in POLITICO yesterday, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle argued that the upcoming conference committee was the perfect time to...
MY VIEW: Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson October 2013
The budget conference committee will begin to meet in full shortly, when the conferees will begin to look for a compromise between the Senate and...