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.
How Does the Fiscal Cliff Compare to Past Deficit Reduction in the U.S.?
In evaluating the fiscal cliff, it is interesting to see how it compares to past cases where the federal government has rapidly reduced deficits. The...
Fiscal Fact Checker: What Caused the Swing From Surplus to Deficit?
The Hill points to a press release by Senator (and former OMB director) Rob Portman (R-OH) that claims the upper-income portion of the 2001/2003/2010...
Bowles and Simpson Announce Campaign to Fix the Debt on CNBC's Squawkbox
Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson appeared alongside Warren Buffett on CNBC's Squawk Box this morning, discussing the need for Congress to pass a...
Bill Frenzel: The Fiscal Cliff--A Hard Landing Becomes More Likely
Today on the Brookings Institution website, CRFB co-chair and former Congressman Bill Frenzel (R-MN) wrote an op-ed about the looming fiscal cliff. In...
University Presidents Call for Balanced and Smart Deficit Reduction
The defense portion of the sequester that will hit on January 2 of next year has garnered a lot of attention, but it is not the only part of the...
CBO Projects DoD's Plans Will Cost More Than Their Estimates
Today, CBO has released yearly estimates of the long-term budget projections for the Department of Defense. The DoD provides a plan to Congress called...
How Does Simpson-Bowles Compare to What Europe Is Doing?
As Senator Mark Warner pointed out last week in the Christian Science Monitor, the United States is still in a position where long-term debt reduction...
CRFB Scores Warren and Brown Campaign Plans
Much of the focus on budget plans has revolved around the two presidential candidates, but Members of Congress have a tremendous impact on the federal...
The Tradeoffs of Tax Reform
Often when tax reform is discussed these days, policymakers are gleeful to detail the ways in which they will cut tax rates or otherwise lower tax...
The Course of Tax Policy Since 2009
In light of President Obama reigniting the tax debate yesterday, Dylan Matthews of Wonkblog has a very informative blog post showing the course of tax...
President Obama Looks to Extend the Tax Cuts
In a press release today, CRFB examines President Obama's announcement that he will push Congress for one year extension of the 2001/2003/2010 tax...
The "Low Hanging Fruit" of the Budget Debate
The latest edition of CQ Weekly has a piece on the " low-hanging fruit" of the budget debate -- provisions that have been proposed or negotiated by...