More on CBO's Budget Options
Going into further detail on one of the most useful CBO reports, Budget Options, there are a plethora of very interesting policies that CBO has scored. While there are over 100 different options with cost estimates, we have selected four from each area of the budget to highlight just some of what's included in the report.
While no where near exhaustive, these options can serve as a guide for policymakers in discussing the budgetary impacts of many policies appearing in some discussions today.
| Policy Option | 5 Year (Billions) | 10 Year (Billions) |
| Discretionary Spending |
||
| Replace the Joint Strike Figher Program with F-16s and F/A-18s | $27 | N/A |
| Increase Cost Sharing and Premiums for TRICARE Benefits for Military Retirees and Their Dependents | $37 | $101 |
| Limit Growth in Civilian Pay | $10 | $50 |
| Limit Highway Funding to Expected Highway Revenues | $33 | $86 |
| Health Care | ||
| Add a "Public Plan" to the Health Insurance Exchanges | $17 | $88 |
| Enact Medical Malpractice Reform (Tort Reform) | $16 | $64 |
| Raise Medicare Eligibility Age from 65 to 67 by 2027 | $18 | $125 |
| Repeal the Health Insurance Individual Mandate | $74 | $282 |
| Social Security | ||
| Index Social Security Benefits to Prices Instead of Wages | $13 | $137 |
| Raise the Full Retirement Age for Social Security to 70 by 2043 | $12 | $120 |
| Increase the Taxable Maximum for Social Security Payroll Tax to 90% of Wages in 2012 | $180 | $457 |
| Cover All Newly Hired State and Local Government Employees | $24 | $96 |
| Other Mandatory | ||
| Reduce Farm Subsidies in Crop Insurance Program | $5 | $12 |
| Eliminate Subsidized Loans to Graduate Students | $8 | $18 |
| Use Chained-CPI for all Tax and Spending Programs | $54 | $232 |
| Reduce the Size of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve | $6 | $7 |
| Tax Expenditures | ||
| Phase Out Mortgage Interest Deduction between 2014 and 2024 | $14 | $215 |
| Limit Itemized Deductions to 15 percent | $460 | $1,181 |
| Eliminate Deduction for State and Local Taxes | $345 | $862 |
| Reduce the Amount Eligible for the Charitable Giving Deduction Starting in 2013 | $86 | $219 |
| Revenue | ||
| Institute Carbon Tax | $489 | $1,179 |
| Impose a 5 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) with Narrow Base | $530 | $1,390 |
| Begin in 2014 instead of 2018 and Modify the Excise Tax on High-Cost Insurance Plans | $100 | $310 |
| Raise All Marginal Rates on Ordinary Income by 1% | $208 | $480 |
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