The Latest

A key test of the new pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) law is taking shape as Congress considers how, or whether, to pay for the extension of major tax and spending policies. In recent years, the list of expiring policies has grown as…

Holding up Dwight D. Eisenhower as a model, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is urging the American military to cut bureaucracy, improve its efficiency and “make every dollar count” as the country struggles with its fiscal challenges. Pentagon reform is critical, Gates…

A recent story on CNN-Money by Steve Hargreaves asks “What will BP really pay?” I think a more fundamental question to ask at this point is “What should BP pay? And should no one else?” As the story explains (emphasis added): (more…)

The federal government ran an estimated budget deficit last month of $85 billion, marking the second year in a row that there has been an April deficit. The government usually runs large surpluses in April as income taxes pour into…

Over the next few weeks, we will hear a lot about "emergency spending" as Congress turns to a major supplemental spending bill that will likely include funding for the war effort and other priorities. Supplemental appropriations bills provide funding in addition…

The BP oil spill reveals the risks associated with oil production, risks that translate into large social costs that are not priced into the oil market. Diane Lim Rogers, Concord’s chief economist, notes that this is a classic case of…

President Obama handed his bipartisan fiscal commission two very ambitious assignments: Find ways to balance the budget excluding interest payments by 2015 and to “meaningfully improve” the long-term fiscal outlook. (more…)

A pediatrician with a reputation for improving both the quality and efficiency of health care has been tapped to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a job that will play a central role in implementing the new health…