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.
Considering a Value Added Tax
With huge structural deficits looming in the future, many observers feel that the current tax code will not be able to raise enough revenue to balance...
Can Only Taxing Income Over $250,000 Pay Off Our Debt?
President Obama has pledged not to raise taxes on individuals who earn under $200,000 a year or on couples earning under $250,000. It seems highly...
Donald Marron to be new TPC Director
Today, the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institute, announced that Donald Marron will become the new...
Let's Establish a Solidarity Fund
In order to help address its debt crisis, the country of Greece has set up a " solidarity account" to which people can donate money to help pay down...
‘Line’ Items: Recess Over, Deadlines Loom
They’re Back – Congress returns from its spring recess this week. The Senate is back in session today and the first order of business is a cloture...
Turning the Tax Cuts into a Hammer
What to do about those pesky expiring tax cuts? Generally speaking, Republicans want to extend them all; Dems want to extend most of them; and no one...
Weekend Editorial Roundup
Here are the highlights from this weekend’s editorials on fiscal and budget policy: The Wall Street Journal noted the lessons that the United States...
New Types of Taxes
In counting down to tax day, we’ve already shown that we don’t raise as much in revenue as we spend, and how this is partially the result of costly...
Three International Economists Join Announcement Effect Club
Along with the daffodils, the onset of spring has seen the blossoming of the “announcement effect” in the public discourse. Three international...
CRFB President and Board Members Talk Solutions on CNN IOUSA Panel This Weekend
CRFB President Maya MacGuineas will join a panel of experts including CRFB board members Pete Peterson and David Walker, as well as former Senator...
Spending by Any Other Name Smells as Sweet: Tax Expenditures
In the complexity that is our tax system, there’s a special group of tax law provisions that significantly change how the regular tax rates affect...
So What's Our Revenue Situation?
With tax day fast approaching, it's worth discussing the current state of revenues in the United States. Last year, revenue collection hit a 60-year...