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.
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Is the Health Care Cost Problem Solved?
The U.S. has been experiencing very low health care cost growth by historical standards since 2009, and projec- tions of federal health care spending...
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Can We Grow Our Way Out of Debt?
Suggesting that the U.S. can grow our way out of debt – increasing economic growth to stabilize or shrink debt as a share of GDP – is a popular idea...
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Can We Fix the Debt Solely by Cutting Welfare Spending?
Some candidates may suggest that we can fix the debt simply by cutting welfare spending, but there is not enough spending in this category to...
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Can We Solve Our Debt Situation by Cutting Waste, Fraud, Abuse, Earmarks, and/or Foreign Aid?
When asked how they will fix the debt, many candidates may point to seemingly painless solutions such as reducing fraud, ending earmarks, or cutting...
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Is Deficit Reduction Code for Austerity, Which Will Harm the Economy?
Some policymakers and commentators have conflated calls for deficit reduction with calls for austerity. It is true that some countries have enacted...
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Are Medicare and Social Security Earned Benefits that Should Not Be Touched?
Although Social Security and Medicare are two of the fastest growing programs in the budget, many argue against making adjustments to these programs...
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Gene Steuerle: Why Health Cost Growth Increases after Estimators Say it’s Slowing: Observer Effects and Feedback Loops
Dr. Eugene (Gene) Steuerle is the Richard B. Fisher chair and Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute and a member of the Committee for a Responsible...
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Chicago Tribune Praises First Budget for Forcing Candidates to Confront the Debt
The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board recently highlighted First Budget -- an initiative co-sponsored by the Campaign to Fix the Debt and the Concord...
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Rattner Discusses Economic Problems Facing Millennials
Steven Rattner wrote an article in yesterday's The New York Times discussing the financial problems facing millennials. Rattner writes that...
Watch the McCrery-Pomeroy SSDI Solutions Conference
The McCrery-Pomeroy SSDI Solutions Initiative is holding its SSDI Solutions Conference today from 8:45 AM to 5 PM. The conference features opening...
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Jim McCrery and Earl Pomeroy: Social Security disability reform: An issue that can’t wait
Former U.S. Representatives Jim McCrery (R-LA) and Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) are the co-chairs of the McCrery-Pomeroy SSDI Solutions Initiative, a project...
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How Lawmakers Have Added to Deficits This Year
The beginning of the 114th Congress was marked by a great deal of rhetoric about fiscal responsibility and passage of a budget resolution promising a...