The Latest

The prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a long-awaited report last week on geographical variation in health care spending. The study, commissioned through the Affordable Care Act (health care reform law), was the government’s most thorough attempt to date to…

A bipartisan proposal introduced in the Senate would provide a more complete picture of the long-term impact of current fiscal policies, including their burden on younger Americans and future generations.Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced the Intergenerational…

WASHINGTON -- The Concord Coalition today praised the bipartisan leadership of Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) for introducing the “INFORM Act,” a legislative proposal that would improve federal budgeting by providing a more complete picture of the…

The city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy on Friday, making it the largest city in the United States to do so. A number of factors led to the city’s current fiscal hole, including outsized pension obligations, a shrinking population, and high…

Three recent reports by credit ratings agencies (Moody’s Analytics, Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor’s) have shown some improvement in the credit outlook for the United States, mostly due to the steadily improving economy and the declining deficit.Moody’s and Standard…

For those who follow the credit rating agencies’ assessments of the United States, the past several weeks have offered mixed messages. Overall, some improvement has been noted, mostly due to the steadily improving economy and the declining deficit. Concerns remain,…

The House passed a farm bill last week after its first attempt failed at the end of June. To get more Republican votes, all funding for the food stamp program was removed from the legislation -- funding which made up…

The House and Senate appear to be making little effort to work out their differences over spending levels, let alone any broader budget deal that might involve President Obama.“We no longer have ‘regular order’ so much as we have regular…