Are Tax Extenders Worth The Cost?

As Congress appears to be closing in on a fiscally irresponsible tax extenders deal that's expected to cost $700 billion in the next decade and as much as $2.3 trillion over 20 years, we have released a new infographic showing other ways to spend $700 billion. For their priorities, conservatives could use this money to repeal the Affordable Care Act's employer health insurance mandate, remove the remaining defense sequester, and double border security funding. And liberals may be excited to know that they could double National Institutes of Health (NIH) research spending, provide debt free college, and increase highway spending for the same cost as well. More important than spending $700 billion on any of these would be to responsibly offset the cost of any year-end tax extenders deal.

 

Read more of our analysis of tax extenders here.