Social Security

How Many Americans Get Government Assistance? All of Us

The other day, the Census Bureau put out a new report that concluded about one-in-five Americans received government benefits in 2012. But the study, called Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Participation in Government Programs, 2009–2012: Who Gets Assistance, takes a far too narrow view about who

June 4, 2015Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

CBO’s Spending Projections Map the Coming Fiscal Battle

Without changes in the law, health care, Social Security, and interest on the debt will eat up 85 percent of all new federal government spending over the next 10 years, according to the latest estimates by the Congressional Budget Office. By contrast, CBO expects most of the rest of government,

August 28, 2014Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Taxing Employer-Sponsored Insurance Would Hike Social Security Benefits But Boost Federal Coffers

The tax subsidy for employer-sponsored health insurance is huge. Not only are the premiums exempt from income tax, they are also immune from Social Security payroll tax. The two subsidies combined will add more than $1.6 trillion to the deficit over the next five years alone. But because that

May 8, 2014Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Congress Shouldn’t Forget About Tax Entitlements In Its Search for Deficit Reduction

Yesterday, Washington Post columnist Bob Samuelson urged lawmakers to “just eliminate…the whole notion of entitlements.” His provocative argument: The very word "entitlement" makes people believe...

October 22, 2013Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

The “Other” Social Security Issue: Disability Insurance

Since the George W. Bush Administration, Social Security reform has been atop the federal government’s list of top policy challenges. But when people talk about...

June 18, 2013Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

An Opportunity to Really Fix Social Security

The White House has put out the word that President Obama’s budget will propose changing the way government adjusts benefits for Social Security and other...

April 9, 2013Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Changing Government's Inflation Measure Would Raise Taxes as Much as it Would Cut Spending

Changing the way government adjusts spending and taxes for inflation is one of those issues that continues to hang around the edges of the budget...

March 5, 2013Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Bowles-Simpson II: A New Plan to Avoid the Sequester

With 10 days to go until the dreaded sequester—the automatic across-the-board spending cuts that most lawmakers profess to hate—the Washington drama machine is starting to...

February 19, 2013Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

The Risks of Dumbing Down Fiscal Goals

In one of the more dangerous fiscal developments of recent months, some on the left are defining successful deficit reduction as merely stabilizing the federal...

February 1, 2013Rudolph G. Penner

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

How Obama’s Inaugural Address Frames the Policy Debate for the Next Decade

“We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that...

January 22, 2013Howard Gleckman