Last week I had the opportunity to testify before two Ways and Means subcommittees–Select Revenue Measures and Oversight–about the way our tax system is used as a tool of energy policy. Here are my opening remarks. You can find my full testimony here. As you know, our tax system is desperately in need of reform. It’s needlessly complex, economically [...]
Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Taxes and Energy Policy
Posted in Budget, Energy, Environment, Politics, tagged Energy, Environment, Politics, Taxes on September 29, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines
Posted in Budget, Politics, tagged Debt, Deficit on September 22, 2011 | 1 Comment »
My latest column for the Christian Science Monitor argues that a slew of budget deadlines will drive policy action this Fall. Case in point, the potential for a government shutdown when the government’s fiscal year ends next week. I don’t think that’s likely, at least not yet, but such deadlines will be the big thing this [...]
S&P’s $2 Trillion Error
Posted in Budget, Finance, Politics, tagged Budget, Debt, Deficit on August 7, 2011 | 22 Comments »
In the final hours before Friday’s historic downgrade, Standard & Poors gave Treasury an advance copy of its report. Amazingly, that report contained a $2 trillion error in its calculations of U.S. deficits and debt over the next decade. Here are four things you should know about it. 1. Treasury hoped that S&P would change its decision [...]
Five Things You Should Know About the S&P Downgrade
Posted in Budget, Finance, Politics, tagged Budget, Debt, Deficit, Interest Rates on August 5, 2011 | 11 Comments »
On Friday night, Standard and Poors announced that it was downgrading U.S. long-term sovereign debt from AAA to AA+, the first such downgrade in U.S. history. Here are five things you should know about the downgrade — four important, one trivia. 1. S&P downgraded U.S. debt not only because of the deteriorating fiscal outlook, but [...]
Debt Limit: Routine or the End of the World?
Posted in Budget, Politics, tagged Debt, Debt Limit, Humor, Politics on July 29, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Well, it certainly isn’t routine this time. Life was much simpler on the West Wing: This is a repost from May.
Why Do Half of Americans Pay No Federal Income Tax?
Posted in Budget, Politics, tagged Budget, Income, Politics, Taxes on July 27, 2011 | 91 Comments »
You may have heard the claim that about half of Americans pay no federal income tax. That’s a true fact. My Tax Policy Center colleagues estimate, for example, that 46% of households either will pay no federal income tax in 2011 or will receive more from the IRS than they pay in. Today, TPC released a new study that [...]
Does the Gang of Six Cut Taxes or Raise Them?
Posted in Budget, Politics, tagged Budget, Debt, Deficit, Taxes on July 20, 2011 | 5 Comments »
Here’s a quick multiple choice quiz about the Gang of Six’s new budget proposal. Over the next ten years, would the proposal: a. Cut taxes by $1.5 trillion b. Increase taxes by $2.0 trillion c. Increase taxes by $1.2 trillion d. All of the above. If you answered (d), you have a fine future as [...]
Let’s Eliminate the Debt Limit
Posted in Budget, Politics, tagged Budget, Debt, Debt Limit on July 18, 2011 | 10 Comments »
My latest column at the Christian Science Monitor: America’s leaders need to get to yes on a budget deal – one that marries substantial deficit cuts with a much-needed increase in the debt limit. But that’s not enough. Rather than merely increasing the debt limit, we should eliminate it. I realize that sounds strange. With [...]
A Big Error in the Senate Republicans’ Balanced Budget Amendment
Posted in Budget, Politics, tagged Budget, Debt, Deficit, Politics on July 6, 2011 | 5 Comments »
Senate Republicans made a striking error in the balanced budget amendment they introduced last week. As written, the amendment would limit federal spending far more than those senators realize or, I suspect, desire. The Republicans want the budget to be balanced by keeping spending down rather than by raising tax revenues. They thus propose limiting [...]
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