Publications on Federal Budgets & Fiscal Policy

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain wants to suspend the federal gas tax for the summer travel season. Truckers say they like the idea. In this Marketplace commentary, Len Burman, Director of the Tax Policy Center explains why Senator McCain’s proposal won’t get us where he wants to go. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/04/17/burman_commentary/

Not everyone pays every dollar owed the government or pays it on time. While stronger enforcement will help, it won't allow the next Congress and administration to avoid the hard budget decisions that expected future deficits will force them to make.

By allowing businesses to look internationally for efficient solutions, globalization may raise overall productivity and allow for widespread increases in living standards. However, critics have observed that globalization often pushes less- skilled U.S. workers into damaging competition with lower- paid foreign substitutes. This review describes the growing body of research on the impacts of globalization on U.S. workers, and explores the potential mobility consequences of this emerging trend. (Review 5 of 11.)

What if President William Howard Taft and his Congress had written laws that specified how all the government’s revenues at the beginning of the 21st century were to be spent? Preposterous? Well, the laws on the books today not only dictate how all revenues collected in 2030 and beyond will be spent, they also predetermine most of the next president’s spending. No wonder the campaign promises of the presidential candidates sound hollow.

From mortgage assistance to health care, the presidential and congressional candidates have big plans for a new administration. No matter how strongly supported, however, public programs must compete with three huge entitlements in the scramble for federal dollars.