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.
A Biennial Approach to Better Budgeting
Biennial budgeting was the subject of a recent Senate Budget Committee hearing, the second in a series on budget process. Testifying were Senator...
Senator Rand Paul Releases Flat Tax Plan
This blog is part of a series of " Policy Explainers" for the 2016 presidential election, where we explain some of the candidates' policy proposals...
Is the Real Unemployment Rate 10%?
In the Democratic debate on November 14, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) stated that the real unemployment rate was around 10 percent. When Sanders says...
Does the U.S. Spend More Per Person on Health Care Without Better Outcomes?
In the November 14 Democratic debate, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said the United States spends more per person on health care than any other major...
Debate Roundup: Fiscal FactChecking the Fourth GOP Debate
This blog is part of the “ Fiscal FactCheck” series designated to examine the accuracy of budget-related statements made during the 2016 presidential...
The Federal Reserve Budget Gimmick In The House Transportation Bill
The transportation bill that the House passed last week contains a budget gimmick worth almost $60 billion (Wall Street Journal Paywall). The...
Would Cutting Spending by 1% Balance the Budget in Less Than Five Years?
During the November 10 Republican debate, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said when discussing balanced budgets, "I’m also in favor of a plan called the penny...
Has the Government Spent $2 Trillion on the Wars in the Middle East?
During the fourth Republican debate last night, Donald Trump suggested that we have spent $2 trillion on the wars in the Middle East. Between Fiscal...
Does the U.S. Spend More on Its Military Than the Next 10 Countries Combined?
During last night’s debate in an exchange between Senators Rand Paul and Marco Rubio on defense spending, Paul claimed that “we spend more on our...
Follow Along with Our @FiscalFactCheck of the #GOPDebate
It's hard to believe that two weeks have already passed by and the next #GOPDebate is upon us. Tonight we will continue to keep the candidates honest...
Bonus Depreciation Has Cost Over $200 Billion So Far and Could Cost $450 Billion
With Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) being elected as Speaker of the House, the Ways & Means (W&M) Committee Chair has gone to Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX). In an...
Gene Steuerle: Recent Social Security reform doesn’t fix unfair spousal benefits
The budget compromise forged by Congress and the Obama administration at the end of last month makes two fundamental changes in Social Security.