Tomorrow the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on budget enforcement mechanisms, a topic that has become popular as members of both parties have recently offered proposals to reduce the deficit by changing the budget process.The proposals…
If President Obama and Republican leaders in Congress hope to build consensus around a plan for fiscal sustainability, they are off on the wrong track. They seem instead to be sharpening their differences.A meaningful long-term plan will require compromises in…
Here is a trivia question: Under which scenario would Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid make up the larger share of non-interest (i.e. “primary”) federal government spending?A. President Obama’s budgetB. Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget (House Budget Committee)The answer is B.Under Ryan’s…
The Treasury Department now estimates that the federal government will reach its legal debt limit no later than May 16, although it could use “extraordinary measures” to avoid default through July 8.Some members of Congress have suggested that refusing to…
