Blogs

The economic recovery has produced larger-than-expected surpluses for many states, and their elected officials are considering what to do with the windfalls.Unfortunately, many state lawmakers have put forward plans that address short-term issues while ignoring more important long-term fiscal concerns…

In her first congressional appearance as chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen this morning discussed challenges facing the central bank and noted that tightening fiscal policy had slowed economic growth last year.President Obama nominated Yellen last October to succeed…

State lawmakers across the country are debating how to spend large surpluses after the economic recovery helped produce higher-than-expected tax collections for the second year in a row. (more…)

Although President Obama’s State of the Union Address last week covered a wide array of topics, it failed to focus on the critical topic of fiscal sustainability.“When the President did mention fiscal issues in his speech it was mostly to…

The Congressional Budget Office released a new report Tuesday that includes some good short-term news on federal deficits but warns that they could add $7.9 trillion to the debt over the next decade.The CBO’s Budget and Economic Outlook is “an…

The Senate passed a 5-year farm bill Tuesday 68-32, after nearly 3 years of congressional conflict over future agriculture policy. The House passed the legislation last week with a 251-166 vote, and the President is expected to sign the bill…

For those interested in a vision of fiscal sustainability, the State of the Union Address was a major disappointment. (more…)

Since 2003 Congress has enacted temporary “patches” to prevent cuts in Medicare’s physician reimbursements. This is necessary because of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) -- a flawed formula for spending on physician services that requires unrealistically large cuts.In April, a…