There is a lot less than meets the eye to the budget deal agreed to last night by outgoing House Speaker John Boehner and the White House. The plan’s proposed new spending is real enough, but many of the spending reductions or new revenues in the plan are wishful thinking at best. Overall, the

Last week, the Obama Administration unveiled a far-reaching roadmap for Congress to aid the beleaguered island territory of Puerto Rico. The plan incorporated some of the best ideas floated by think tanks , independent agencies , and government task forces since the island started losing people and

Highway funding: Four more days… plus three weeks? To recap : Highway funding expires on Thursday. The Congressional Budget Office estimates Congress will have to find an additional $100 billion, beyond projected gas tax revenue, to fund a six-year bill. So far, the Senate has found three years of

In the face of widespread criticism of the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax on high-cost employer sponsored health insurance plans ( the Cadillac Tax ), some lawmakers have backed an alternative: a cap on the current tax exclusion for employer contributions to health insurance. To learn how the two

They’re off to see the wizard (of tax and spending promises), because… of the wonderful things he does? TPC’s Howard Gleckman considers the enormous magnitude of most presidential candidates’ fiscal offerings. Democrat Bernie Sanders wants to make “the rich” pay a “damned lot” more in taxes to help

Democratic governors would like a highway funding long-term solution. Nineteen members of the Democratic Governors Association want an end to serial temporary extensions . Their letter to House and Senate leaders pushes for a “robust and long-term federal commitment.” Congress has not passed a long

In less than a month—and in perhaps as little as 18 days-- the federal government will be unable to pay its bills. Realistically, there is only one way to avoid such a fiscal mess: Congress must raise the federal debt limit so Treasury can borrow more money. But how will that happen? On one hand,

If anyone needed another example of why a carbon tax is a good idea, look no further than Volkswagen’s diesel scandal. The automaker’s efforts to game the current system are a case study in what’s wrong with government attempts to reduce pollution with regulation and tax subsidies, rather than