Tax Policy Center

debt ceiling

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Breaching The Debt Limit Risks Hurting Children

In a year when child poverty has risen substantially following the expiration of temporary tax benefits, Washington intransigence over raising the debt ceiling could put...
February 22, 2023Elaine Maag
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Playing Russian Roulette With The Federal Debt

Congress should eliminate the debt ceiling this year. It serves no useful purpose. It doesn’t contribute to fiscal discipline, and breaching it entails large, potentially,...
December 13, 2022Leonard E. BurmanWilliam G. Gale
: TaxVox

Congress In 2019: What’s Ahead For Fiscal Policy?

The return of divided government and the early stages of the next presidential election create enormous uncertainty about how 2019 will go. As Yogi Berra...
January 4, 2019William G. GaleMark J. Mazur
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Why the Next Debt Limit Debacle Might be Worse

Congress’s latest flirtation with debt-limit default caused barely a ripple in the financial markets. Rates on short-term Treasuries spiked in early October, before quickly subsiding...
December 3, 2013Benjamin H. Harris
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

The Illogic of the McConnell Debt Limit Rule

In the aftermath of the recent government shutdown and the painful negotiations that brought the country perilously close to defaulting on government debt, policy experts...
October 23, 2013William G. Gale
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Government Shutdowns Threaten To Become The New Normal

President Obama must continue to refuse to negotiate policy while the government is shut down. If he does not hold firm on this principle, these...
October 3, 2013Howard Gleckman
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

It's Groundhog Day Over the Debt Ceiling

If you recently heard the news that Congress is debating the merits of raising the debt ceiling, don't think you have time-traveled back to 2011...
October 2, 2013William G. Gale