Category Archives: Budget & Debt
The Best Part of the Coronavirus Relief Bill
As the Wall Street Journal reported and I tweeted yesterday, Senators Chuck Schumer and Patrick Toomey made important news when they agreed that with the new Coronavirus relief legislation, “the $429 billion would be revoked and the Fed wouldn’t be … Continue reading
Posted in Budget & Debt
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Bridge Both the In-Person and the On-Line Educational Divides
In a new Policy Brief just released by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Jack Mallery and I show that In-person and online learning go together Yes, America must prioritize in-person K-12 elementary and secondary schools as soon as … Continue reading
All Fireworks Shows Cancelled in Bay Area
Yes. That’s the San Francisco Chronicle digital headline, and it’s true all over the United States of America, with some exceptions like Mount Rushmore last night and DC tonight. Back in 2010, I started writing on each July 4th about … Continue reading
Make Section 2201 of the CARES Act Work in Practice
Section 2201 of the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act authorizes direct payments, “Recovery Rebates,” to individual households and families. The Section is called the “2020 Recovery Rebates for Individuals” and is estimated to total $300 billion–the sum … Continue reading
Posted in Budget & Debt, Stimulus Impact
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Structural, Not Cyclical, Budget Reform
Today I published a column in Project Syndicate on fiscal policy. I am positive about pro-growth effects of the tax reform in the 2017 tax act and of the greater use of cost-benefit analysis in the recent regulatory reform effort. … Continue reading
Congressional Testimony on the Costs of Rapidly Growing Government Debt
Yesterday I testified at the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representative. John Yarmuth chaired, and Steve Womack was the ranking member. The Committee titled the hearing “Reexamining the Economic Costs of Debt,” which was quite different from … Continue reading
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A Decade of July 4th Debt Explosions: Are They Getting Less Spectacular?
Starting a decade ago, I’ve charted on Independence Day the most recent long-term projection of the federal debt by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Over the years the chart has continued to look much like the Fourth of July fireworks, … Continue reading
Still Exploding After All These Years
For the past nine years on Independence Day (see here and here for example), I’ve plotted the most recent long-term projection of the federal debt by the Congressional Budget Office as a reminder that it’s as explosive as the Fourth of … Continue reading
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What’s Past is Prologue. Study the Past
Each year the Wall Street Journal asks friends for their favorite books of the year. Two years ago I chose Thomas Sowell’s history of income distribution in Wealth, Poverty, and Politics and Brian Kilmeade’s history on Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli … Continue reading
Seeing Through the Fog of Federal Budget Forecasting
Every summer since 2010 I’ve charted the latest Congressional Budget Office (CBO) long-term projection of the federal debt, noting the similarity with the Fourth of July fireworks. But during these years, the CBO has changed its procedures several times, fogging … Continue reading
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Economics One 