Latest
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Can Social Security’s Shortfall Be Closed Simply by Raising Taxes on or Means-Testing Benefits for the Wealthy?
Read moreIncreasing the amount of wages subject to Social Security payroll taxes from the current $118,500 cap would raise more revenue and improve the...
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Can We Continue Borrowing Without Consequences?
Read moreOne of the most common myths about the national debt is that we can increase it without consequence. Some argue that because the United States borrows...
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Can We Dramatically Lower Tax Rates by Closing a Few Egregious Loopholes?
Read moreCandidates who propose tax reform plans that are revenue-neutral may suggest that the cost of tax rate reductions can be offset by closing egregious...
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Can We Fix the Debt Solely by Cutting Welfare Spending?
Read moreSome 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 Fix the Debt Solely by Taxing the Top 1 Percent?
Read moreA popular suggestion is that raising taxes only on high earners (for example, the top one percent – households that make above roughly $435,000...
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Can We Grow Our Way Out of Debt?
Read moreSuggesting 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 Solve Our Debt Situation by Cutting Waste, Fraud, Abuse, Earmarks, and/or Foreign Aid?
Read moreWhen 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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CRFB and FTD Publish 16 Budget Myths to Watch Out For in the 2016 Campaign
Read moreThe next President will need to confront a number of budgetary challenges and will likely sign into law many federal tax and spending changes. But...
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Do Tax Cuts Pay For Themselves?
Read moreSome advocates of tax cuts have suggested such cuts will not lose revenue since they will spur economic growth and thus produce enough additional tax...
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Fiscal FactCheck: 16 Budget Myths to Watch Out For in the 2016 Campaign
Read moreUpdate: The original version of this paper had a mathematical typo, saying that Medicare beneficiaries get, on average, 350% more out of the program...
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Is a Balanced Budget Amendment All We Need to Fix the Debt?
Read moreMany candidates will suggest some form of a balanced budget amendment (BBA). Even in the best case, such an amendment is a supplement rather than a...
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Is Deficit Reduction Code for Austerity, Which Will Harm the Economy?
Read moreSome policymakers and commentators have conflated calls for deficit reduction with calls for austerity. It is true that some countries have enacted...