Blogs

The current debate over extending the payroll tax cut well demonstrates that policymakers often mean different things when referring to policies that “help” or “expand” the economy. I often hear the words “stimulus” and “growth” used interchangeably, but when economists…

Although the nation’s economic and fiscal challenges are daunting, Diane Lim Rogers, The Concord Coalition’s chief economist, encourages ordinary citizens not to give up in pressing politicians for effective action. (more…)

With the national debt reaching the $15 trillion mark this month, average citizens are showing a keener appreciation of the need for more sustainable federal budgets than many elected officials. (more…)

In the wake of the super committee’s failure last week, Congress faces some key decisions on expiring policies over the next few weeks that could have a significant impact on the federal deficit in the years ahead. On Monday, for…

How many Iowans would be prepared to accept cuts in agricultural subsidies as part of a comprehensive deficit-reduction plan? Not many, to hear many politicians tell it. But results from an interactive budget exercise last week in Des Moines indicate…

President Obama signed the first regular appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2012 into law last Friday. The legislation was referred to as a “minibus” and combined three of the twelve regular appropriations bills: Agriculture, Commerce/ Justice/ Science, and Transportation/ Housing…

While there are many places in the federal budget where taxpayer dollars could be saved, simply “cutting waste” is not a panacea. Harry Zeeve, national field director for The Concord Coalition, emphasizes that point in a new blog post on…

The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider the constitutionality of the legislation approved last year to revamp the U.S. health care system. The court indicated that it would examine not just whether the government can require people to buy…