The key to well-designed stimulus is to ensure that it is timely, temporary and targeted the "three T" principles enunciated by economists as diverse as Harvard Professors Lawrence Summers and Martin Feldstein, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Congressional Budget Office Director Peter...
Education expenditures are one of the largest spending areas for state and local governments, and perpupil expenditures have been growing over time. We examine trends in state aid for education and overall education spending and decompose the existing drivers behind growing state costs. We then...
New York Times, January 23, 2008 - Since 2001, official Washington's answer to every policy question has been the same. What should we do with a big surplus? Tax cuts. How do we beat back global terrorism? Tax cuts. Increase energy independence? Rebuild New Orleans? Expand health insurance...
In this article, C. Eugene Steuerle explores the political and budgetary pressures facing Charles Rangel, the House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, with regard to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). He further analyzes various options to fix the AMT, the ramifications for Rangel, and the path...
A good tax system raises the revenues needed to finance government spending in a manner that is as simple, equitable, stable, and conducive to economic growth as possible. But the challenge for the next President will be to make reform work not just in the abstract, but in the real world, where...
Economists believe that monetary policy should play the lead role in stabilizing the economy because of the Federal Reserve's ability to act quickly and effectively to adjust interest rates, using its technical expertise and political insulation to balance competing priorities. Fiscal policy can...
In principle, a well-timed and carefully designed economic stimulus package can help avert or minimize a recession. In practice, timing a fiscal stimulus is nearly impossible since forecasters usually "predict" economic turning points only long after they have occurred. Len Burman and Jeff...
Looking only at standard macroeconomic statistics, you would think the economy was in very good shape. Gross domestic product has grown at a 4.4 percent annual rate in the last six months, well above the historical average. But these statistics are like looking through a rearview mirror. Jason...
In this "Marketplace" commentary, Len Burman, director of the Tax Policy Center, explains why presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's FairTax proposal is misnamed.
Republican Presidential Candidate Fred Thompson has announced a tax plan that combines tax cut extensions, additional tax cuts, and an election to pay tax under a new alternative tax system that would substitute a larger standard deduction for all current deductions and credits and have two...
Options for Fiscal Stimulus
The key to well-designed stimulus is to ensure that it is timely, temporary and targeted the "three T" principles enunciated by economists as diverse as Harvard Professors Lawrence Summers and Martin Feldstein, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Congressional Budget Office Director Peter...
State Education Spending: Current Pressures and Future Trends
Education expenditures are one of the largest spending areas for state and local governments, and perpupil expenditures have been growing over time. We examine trends in state aid for education and overall education spending and decompose the existing drivers behind growing state costs. We then...
Make the Tax Cuts Work
New York Times, January 23, 2008 - Since 2001, official Washington's answer to every policy question has been the same. What should we do with a big surplus? Tax cuts. How do we beat back global terrorism? Tax cuts. Increase energy independence? Rebuild New Orleans? Expand health insurance...
Rangel's AMT Riddle Continues
In this article, C. Eugene Steuerle explores the political and budgetary pressures facing Charles Rangel, the House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, with regard to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). He further analyzes various options to fix the AMT, the ramifications for Rangel, and the path...
Fixing the Tax System
A good tax system raises the revenues needed to finance government spending in a manner that is as simple, equitable, stable, and conducive to economic growth as possible. But the challenge for the next President will be to make reform work not just in the abstract, but in the real world, where...
If, When, How: A Primer on Fiscal Stimulus
Economists believe that monetary policy should play the lead role in stabilizing the economy because of the Federal Reserve's ability to act quickly and effectively to adjust interest rates, using its technical expertise and political insulation to balance competing priorities. Fiscal policy can...
Bush Stimulus May Have Only Modest Effect
In principle, a well-timed and carefully designed economic stimulus package can help avert or minimize a recession. In practice, timing a fiscal stimulus is nearly impossible since forecasters usually "predict" economic turning points only long after they have occurred. Len Burman and Jeff...
Not if Exports Save Us
Looking only at standard macroeconomic statistics, you would think the economy was in very good shape. Gross domestic product has grown at a 4.4 percent annual rate in the last six months, well above the historical average. But these statistics are like looking through a rearview mirror. Jason...
Huckabee Tax Plan Would Be A Disaster
In this "Marketplace" commentary, Len Burman, director of the Tax Policy Center, explains why presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's FairTax proposal is misnamed.
Revenue and Distributional Effects of the Individual Income and Estate Tax Provisions of Senator Thompson's Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth
Republican Presidential Candidate Fred Thompson has announced a tax plan that combines tax cut extensions, additional tax cuts, and an election to pay tax under a new alternative tax system that would substitute a larger standard deduction for all current deductions and credits and have two...