Center on Budget: Comprehensive News Feed

Contrary to "Entitlement Society" Rhetoric, Over Nine-Tenths of Entitlement Benefits Go to Elderly, Disabled, or Working Households

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:54:07 -0500

Some conservative critics of federal social programs, including leading presidential candidates, are sounding an alarm that the United States is rapidly becoming an “entitlement society” in which social programs are undermining the work ethic and creating a large class of Americans who prefer to depend on government benefits rather than work. A new CBPP analysis of budget and Census data, however, shows that more than 90 percent of the benefit dollars that entitlement and …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Debunking the “Entitlement Society” Myth

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:55:26 -0500

Contrary To "Entitlement Society" Rhetoric, Over Nine-Tenths of Entitlement Benefits Go to Elderly, Disabled, or Working Households

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:57:34 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Bernstein on Income Inequality

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:33:05 -0500

Testimony of Jared Bernstein Before the Senate Budget Committee on Assessing Inequality, Mobility, and Opportunity

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:42:55 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Dos and Don'ts to Improve State Economies

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:41:08 -0500

Strengthening State Fiscal Policies for a Stronger Economy

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:53:55 -0500

Strengthening state economies and creating jobs – now and into the future – will require sensible, forward-looking state fiscal policies. States need to invest adequately in education, health care, transportation and workforce development. To do that, they need to generate sufficient revenue, and they need to do so in an equitable and transparent manner. This paper is a guide to fiscal policies that can create jobs now and prime states for long-term economic …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Repairing the Safety Net

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:48:19 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Like the Ryan Budget? Then You'll Love These House Spending-Cap Bills

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:41:02 -0500

House Spending-Cap Bills Would Enact Radical Ryan Budget Into Law

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:30:07 -0500

The House may soon consider two bills (H.R. 3576 and H.R. 3580) that would limit federal spending to levels similar to those in the House-passed budget resolution, authored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI). These bills are part of a package of ten bills that Chairman Ryan and other committee members recently introduced to alter the federal budget process.[1] These two bills would require large cuts in federal spending that would likely fall disproportionately on …

Video: Jared Bernstein Discusses the January Employment Report with Chad Stone

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:26:01 -0500

Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow, and Chad Stone, Chief Economist, discuss what the encouraging January employment report indicates about job creation and economic growth. Chad Stone: “We’re smiling and the markets are smiling and this is actually a good jobs report. It’s one of the few good jobs reports we’ve had in this recovery. We had 240,000 jobs on private and government payrolls combined. 257,000 jobs in the private sector. 23 straight months of private …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Local Governments Still a Drag on the Economy

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:39:43 -0500

Statement: Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the January Employment Report

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:09:10 -0500

Today's jobs report is encouraging, but we should judge it against the overall sluggishness of the economic recovery and a persistently large jobs deficit that remains after 23 straight months of private-sector job creation. Payroll employment is still 5.6 million jobs short of where it was at the start of the Great Recession in December 2007, there are four jobless workers for every job opening, and long-term unemployment remains at an historic high level …

Georgia's Tax Breaks to Increase Use of Health Savings Accounts Did Not Expand Health Coverage

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:35:00 -0500

New data show that an approach to covering the uninsured that Newt Gingrich’s Center for Health Transformation (CHT) largely designed and heavily promoted to Georgia policymakers — and that Georgia adopted in 2008 — has failed to produce the promised results. The Georgia plan features multiple tax breaks to expand the use of Health Savings Accounts tied to high-deductible insurance plans. CHT claimed it would reduce the number of uninsured Georgians dramatically, but …

Off the Charts Blog Post: States Pressing Out-of-State Retailers to Collect Sales Tax

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:23:00 -0500

Off the Charts Greenstein Blog Post: Economy Struggling to Be All That It Can Be

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:23:04 -0500

Off the Charts Greenstein Blog Post: Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up?

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:59:48 -0500

Testimony of Jared Bernstein Before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:17:59 -0500

Chairman Kline, Ranking Member Miller, and members of the Committee, I thank you for the opportunity to testify today and applaud you for holding this hearing on the issue that matters most to most Americans right now: opportunity, jobs, and the living standards of the broad middle class. Introduction: Current Conditions and the American Middle Class The current economy continues to expand in real GDP terms, as has been the case since the second half of 2009. Employment growth …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Bernstein on Strengthening the Middle Class

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:26:36 -0500

Video: "You Ask, I Answer" with Jared Bernstein

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:35:06 -0500

Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, answers questions from his readers. Duration: 6:15

Off the Charts Blog Post: Rankings Say Little About States' Real Business Climate

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:51:16 -0500

Video: A Discussion with Jared Bernstein and Chye-Ching Huang on Capital Gains Tax

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:32:05 -0500

“There are lots of good reasons to get rid of” the preferential tax treatment of capital gains, Chye-Ching Huang tells Jared Bernstein in this video. She notes, for instance, that “at the same time that capital gains income has been growing really rapidly, and growing at the very top of the income distribution, we have been cutting the rates. That is one of the major reasons why the tax system hasn’t been doing as much to push against income inequality as it used …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Bill for Inadequate Unemployment Insurance Taxes Now Coming Due in Many States

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:34:44 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Happy EITC Day!

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:28:33 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: At Least We Have the Fed

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:17:32 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: The Buffett Rule Revisited

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:29:48 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Update on House Budget Process Bills

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:12:50 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Taking a Pass on “Pass-Through” Income Would Cost Kansas

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:48:02 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Reischauer “Strongly Opposes” House Bill to Inflate Cost of Federal Credit Programs

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:13:36 -0500

Proposed Kansas Tax Break for “Pass-Through” Profits Is Poorly Targeted and Will Not Create Jobs

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:24:39 -0500

Governor Brownback's proposal for dramatic changes to Kansas' income tax includes a highly problematic provision that would eliminate all taxes on the profits of certain types of corporations and similar non-corporate business entities. The provision would benefit many large corporations and investment vehicles, not just the small business job creators the governor claims he is trying to help. At the same time, the proposal would cost the state, at a minimum, $266 million or more in …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Tax Preference for Capital Gains Doesn't Make Sense

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:22:20 -0500

House Bill Would Artificially Inflate Cost of Federal Credit Programs

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:59:58 -0500

The House Budget Committee is scheduled to consider legislation on January 24 that would change the federal accounting of direct loans and loan guarantees in ways that would overstate the federal costs of those programs. As a result, the legislation also would overstate the size of federal deficits. The Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 changed the budgetary accounting of federal credit programs. Previously, the budget displayed the costs of credit programs on a yearly basis …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Romney Proposals Would Slash Nondefense Programs

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:12:19 -0500

“Baseline Reform Act” Is a Step in the Wrong Direction

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:03:04 -0500

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA), and other members have introduced legislation that would require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to assume, in constructing budget “baselines” that project funding levels for future years, that future annual appropriations will remain frozen indefinitely, with no adjustment for inflation. This change could weaken, rather than strengthen, fiscal …

Romney Budget Proposals Would Require Massive Cuts in Nondefense Programs

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:31:31 -0500

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's proposals to cap total spending, boost defense spending, cut taxes, and balance the budget would require extraordinarily large cuts in nondefense programs. If policymakers cut all nondefense programs by the same percentage, the cuts would measure 21 percent in 2016 and 36 percent in 2021. If policymakers exempted Social Security from the cuts and then cut all other nondefense programs by the same percentage, …

Requiring Joint Budget Resolution Could Lead to Gridlock on Appropriations and Shift Power to the Executive Branch

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:49:34 -0500

Representative Diane Black (R-TN) has introduced a bill (H.R. 3575)[1] that would bar Congress from considering annual appropriations bills — or any other legislation that would affect the budget — until Congress has passed, and the President has signed, a joint budget resolution for the fiscal year, regardless of how many months it takes for the Senate, House, and the President to agree on one. Currently, under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, budget resolutions are …

Biennial Budgeting: Do the Drawbacks Outweigh the Advantages?

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:52:12 -0500

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI), and others have introduced legislation (H.R. 3577) that would move the federal budget from an annual to a biennial cycle and make other changes in the congressional budget process. House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier has introduced his own biennial budgeting bill, H.R. 114. Proponents of biennial budgeting present it as a reform that will lead to more thoughtful and deliberative budgeting and allow …

Off the Charts Blog Post: One down, six to go!

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:10:06 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Missouri Governor Shows How Not to Balance a Budget

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:22:03 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Grading the President's Jobs Council on Corporate Tax Reform

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:35:02 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Three Things for Congress to Remember When Voting on the Debt Limit

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:24:00 -0500

House Republican Proposal Would Undermine Foundation of Unemployment Insurance System

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:46:59 -0500

A provision that some policymakers may seek to include in legislation to extend the payroll tax cut through the end of 2012would authorize the Secretary of Labor to let up to ten states per year use unemployment insurance (UI) funds for purposes other than paying benefits. The provision, part of the full-year payroll-tax bill that the House passed in December, would undermine UI’s fundamental purpose since its creation in the 1930s. As the bipartisan, blue-ribbon …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Unemployment Insurance Funds Should Go for Unemployment Insurance

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:54:40 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: The Facts on SNAP — Again

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:35:01 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Housing Block Grant Proposal Would Likely Pave the Way for Deep Cuts

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:29:26 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Romney's Wrong: Federal Low-Income Program Dollars Go Overwhelmingly to Beneficiaries

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:25:23 -0500

Romney's Charge That Most Federal Low-Income Spending Goes for "Overhead" and "Bureaucrats" Is False

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:18:37 -0500

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has endorsed a proposal to eliminate major federal assistance programs for low-income Americans and turn them over to the states, often with deep funding cuts. But the rationale he offered for doing so in this past Sunday’s “Meet the Press” debate — that the federal bureaucracy eats up most of the money Congress provides for these programs, and little actually reaches people in need — is simply false. At least …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Congress Should Start Minding the Tax Gap

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:23:34 -0500

Improving Budget Analysis of State Criminal Justice Reforms: A Strategy For Better Outcomes and Saving Money

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:28:08 -0500

Issued Jointly With An increasing number of states are considering criminal justice reforms proven to protect the public and produce significant cost savings. For example, some states are offering effective addiction treatment to more people convicted of drug-related crimes instead of incarcerating them. Other states are increasingly turning to sanctions other than prison time for people who violate the technical conditions of their parole, for example, by missing a meeting …

Proposal to Greatly Expand “Moving To Work” Initiative Risks Deep Cuts in Housing Assistance Over Time

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:58:01 -0500

Overview A recent proposal from Representative Gary Miller (R-CA) to permit an unlimited expansion of the Moving to Work (MTW) demonstration, which now exempts 35 housing agencies from nearly all federal housing laws and regulations so they can experiment with alternative ways of administering low-income housing aid, risks deep cuts to housing assistance over time. The proposal could lead a very large share of the nation’s 3,900 state and local housing agencies to convert …

Off the Charts Blog Post: The Facts on SNAP

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:08:30 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Long and Uncertain Recovery for State Budgets

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:39:11 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: In Case You Missed It

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:47:18 -0500

Hundreds of Thousands of Lower-Wage Workers, Many of Whom Worked for Decades, Would Be Denied Unemployment Insurance Under Provision Now Under Consideration

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:06:27 -0500

A provision that congressional negotiators will consider for legislation to extend the payroll tax cut through the end of 2012 would deny unemployment insurance (UI) to hundreds of thousands of lower-wage workers who worked for years or even decades, effectively paid UI taxes while they worked, and then were laid off. The provision, part of the full-year payroll-tax bill that the House passed in December, would deny UI benefits to anyworker who lacks a high school diploma or GED and is …

Statement: Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the December Employment Report

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:02:02 -0500

Today’s employment report shows glimmers of hope for the job market, most notably the addition of 200,000 payroll jobs in December. Yet a strong jobs recovery remains elusive. The overall jobs deficit remains large, the labor force shrank for the second straight month, and the proportion of people aged 16 and over who have a job remains depressed (see chart). Jobs are still hard to find, especially for the long-term unemployed. The job market is nowhere near healthy enough yet to …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Romney Tax Plan: Cuts Taxes for the Rich, Hurts the Poor, Raises Deficits

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:09:55 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: States Looking Ahead to 2013

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:17:07 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post:The Latest on Inequality

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:32:21 -0500

Coming Reductions in Discretionary Funding Will Be Larger For Non-Defense Programs than Defense Programs

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:35:32 -0500

Advocates of defense funding have issued many public warnings about the severity of the new, lower annual limits on defense funding for 2013-2021 resulting from the combination of the discretionary spending caps set in the Budget Control Act and the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the “super-committee”).[1] For example, House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) claimed recently that “over half of the deficit reduction efforts to …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Defense Squeeze Tight, Non-Defense Squeeze Tighter

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:48:23 -0500

Congressional Impasse Jeopardizes January Jobless Benefits for Nearly Two Million Workers

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:54:29 -0500

Congress's failure to resolve differences over how to pay for renewing the payroll tax cut and federal emergency unemployment insurance (UI) benefits could mean an even colder January for jobless workers. States are already taking action to shut down the provision of federal benefits at the start of the new year, putting 1.8 million Americans in danger of losing benefits in January, according to estimates from the National Employment Law Project (NELP).[1] Table 1 contains a …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Why the Ryan-Wyden Medicare Plan Would Likely Shift Costs to Beneficiaries

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:29:34 -0500

The Case Against Premium Support

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:46:09 -0500

On December 16, 2011, the Brookings Institution's project on Budgeting for National Priorities hosted a discussion of the proposal for Medicare premium support developed by former Office of Management and Budget Director Alice Rivlin and former Senator Pete Domenici. [1] That proposal, and the markedly similar proposal advanced by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), would restructure Medicare by establishing a Medicare exchange in which …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Cutting Pell Grants Is Unnecessary and Unwise

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:32:15 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Taking Stock of the Safety Net, Part 5: Helping Families Stay Afloat During Unemployment Spells

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:16:20 -0500

Media Briefing: A Closer Look at the Ryan-Wyden Plan to Reform Medicare

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:14:58 -0500

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities held a conference call briefing on Tuesday, December 20 at 12:30 pm (ET) to discuss the new Medicare reform framework put forth by Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Ron Wyden. Duration: 18:27

Off the Charts Blog Post: What Happens to the Unemployed if There's No Deal on Jobless Benefits?

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:19:56 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Taking Stock of the Safety Net, Part 4: Helping Families Afford an Adequate Diet

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:54:40 -0500

Key Things to Know About Unemployment Insurance

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:29:04 -0500

In the heat of the battle over how to address the imminent expiration of federal emergency unemployment insurance (UI) benefits (and the payroll tax cut), policymakers should not lose sight of what UI is and how it has functioned over the years. UI not only cushions the financial blow for workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own but also helps sustain consumer demand during economic downturns by providing a continuing stream of dollars for families to spend. What is …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Problems with the Ryan-Wyden Medicare Proposal

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:08:30 -0500

Ryan-Wyden Premium Support Proposal Not What It May Seem

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:54:00 -0500

The proposal for Medicare premium support by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) differs in key respects from how many media reports are describing it.[1] Despite claims to the contrary, it likely would shift substantial costs to beneficiaries rather than protect them from such cost increases, could lead to the demise of traditional Medicare over time rather than preserve it, and likely would produce few savings. Shifts Costs to Beneficiaries…

Off the Charts Blog Post: It's the Great Recession, Not the Great Vacation, That's Responsible for High Unemployment

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:48:02 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: 3.3 Million Things Wrong with the House Unemployment Insurance Bill

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:50:41 -0500

Senate's Balanced Budget Amendment Could Force Deep Cuts in Aid to States

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:16:28 -0500

The Republican-sponsored version of a constitutional balanced budget amendment, which the Senate voted on today, would require enormous federal budget cuts, very likely resulting in dramatic reductions in federal grants to states and localities for services ranging from education to highway maintenance to public safety. The attached tables show how much each state risks losing in total federal assistance and in funding for six selected grant programs. The proposal’s …

Off the Charts Blog Post: House Payroll Tax Bill Would Hike Health Reform Subsidy Repayments

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:31:15 -0500

House Unemployment Insurance Proposal Would Harm Jobless Workers, Weaken Economy, and Undermine UI System

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:53:10 -0500

The House Republican bill (H.R. 3630) to extend the payroll tax cut and federal emergency unemployment insurance (UI) through next year would sharply curtail the number of weeks of UI benefits available to the long-term unemployed, even though jobs remain scarce and long-term unemployment remains at unprecedented levels. In addition, it would institute numerous permanent changes to the UI system that would not only make it harder for workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own to …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Florida Proposes Small Step Out of Big Education Funding Hole

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:22:55 -0500

Proposed Balanced Budget Amendment Is Extreme by International Standards

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:08:33 -0500

Some proponents of a constitutional balanced budget amendment argue that other developed countries’ constitutions require balanced budgets, suggesting that a balanced budget requirement for the federal government would therefore be appropriate.[1] In reality, however, no European country — not even countries such as Germany or Switzerland that are held up as fiscally responsible compared to others — has adopted or is seriously considering a fiscal rule comparable to the …

Off the Charts Blog Post: OECD: Tax and Spending Policy Can Push Against Rising Inequality

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:10:02 -0500

Provision in House Republican Payroll Tax Bill Would Cause 170,000 People to Forgo Health Coverage and Could Jeopardize Health Reform

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:52:57 -0500

The House Republican payroll-tax bill unveiled December 9 includes a change in the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies that would cause 170,000 people to forgo coverage and make it more difficult for the health reform law’s insurance exchanges to function effectively. The provision in question would substantially increase the repayment charges imposed at tax time on many people who, under the health reform law, will receive subsidies to help them afford coverage during months of …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Federal Pay Freeze Proposal Obscures Likely Cuts in Domestic Funding

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:26:21 -0500

Allowing Insurers to Withhold Data on Enrollees' Health Status Could Undermine Key Part of Health Reform

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:44:14 -0500

Risk adjustment is one of the critical elements of health reform (i.e., the Affordable Care Act, or ACA) that’s designed to encourage insurers to compete based on price and quality — not on attracting the healthiest enrollees and deterring those in poorer health, as they typically do today in the individual and small-group insurance markets. Under the ACA’s risk adjustment provision, insurers in the individual and small-group markets with sicker-than-average overall …

Off the Charts Blog Post: House Republican Unemployment Insurance Proposal Acts As If Economic Slump Is Over

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:17:57 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: State Tax Hikes on the Rich Back on the Table

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:08:18 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Corporate Tax Holiday Has No Place on Payroll Tax-Cut Extension Bill

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:58:45 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: War, Taxes, and Priorities

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:45:45 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Cutting Federal Pay and Workforce Poses Problems

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:12:01 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Senate Balanced Budget Amendment Goes Far Beyond European Budget Rules

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:38:53 -0500

Proposed Balanced Budget Amendment Is Extreme by International Standards

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:45:36 -0500

Republican Proposal To Pay For Payroll Tax Extension Would Increase Already Severe Cuts In Discretionary Programs

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:37:06 -0500

The plan of Senate Republican leaders to extend and expand payroll tax relief includes a smaller payroll tax cut and would provide less than half of the economic boost of the Democratic alternative. The plan claims to offset the costs of its payroll tax cut by freezing federal employee pay and cutting federal employment, but that claim is misleading. The plan actually secures these savings by cutting the overall funds available for defense and non-defense discretionary programs for the …

Republican Proposal To Pay For Payroll Tax Extension Would Increase Already-Severe Cuts In Discretionary Programs

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:06:30 -0500

Off the Charts Blog Post: Senate Balanced Budget Amendment an Extreme Version of a Bad Idea

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:12:57 -0500

The Senate's Balanced Budget Amendment Would Require Extreme Budget Cuts

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:56:40 -0500

The constitutional balanced budget amendment (BBA) that the Senate is expected to consider this month would, like any version of a BBA, risk serious harm to the economy by requiring that the budget be balanced even during an economic downturn. But this BBA, in particular, would do far more damage because it also would prevent the federal government from meeting the nation’s basic needs even when the economy is healthy. That’s because the amendment would enshrine a …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Examining the Budget Control Act's Across-the-Board Cuts

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:58:56 -0500

SNAP'S Homeless Shelter Deduction Can Provide Much-Needed Help for Homeless Individuals and Families

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:09:53 -0500

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program's (SNAP) homeless shelter deduction offers states a flexible tool to provide increased benefits to individuals and families who are without permanent housing but still have shelter expenses. Thanks to improvements made in the 2002 Farm Bill, the deduction is simple to administer and can be applied widely to nearly any type of shelter expenses. Unfortunately, only about half of the states have taken advantage of the option,[1] and …

Large Majority of Housing Voucher Recipients Work, are Elderly, or Have Disabilities

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:35:16 -0500

In light of renewed interest among policymakers in increasing the "self-sufficiency" of recipients of housing assistance (and other public benefit programs), we used recent administrative data submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by state and local housing agencies to analyze the demographic characteristics and labor force attachment of households receiving assistance under the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. Our major findings are as …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Exploring Income Inequality, Part 5: The Concentration of Income and Wealth

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:57:41 -0500

How the Across-the-Board Cuts in the Budget Control Act Will Work

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:52:53 -0500

The debt limit deal of August 2 — the Budget Control Act (BCA) — imposed caps on discretionary programs that will reduce their funding by almost $1 trillion over the next decade, relative to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline of this past March. [1] It also established a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to propose legislation reducing deficits by another $1.2 trillion over that period, and established a backup "sequestration" …

Republican Proposal To Pay For Payroll Tax Extension Would Increase Already- Severe Cuts In Discretionary Programs

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:43:42 -0500

Statement: Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the November Employment Report

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:12:21 -0500

Today's employment report shows continued moderate growth in private payroll employment but a further decline in government jobs. Thus, the overall jobs deficit remains large (see chart) and jobs remain hard to find. The drop in the unemployment rate to 8.6 percent arises from people leaving the labor force, not from a fundamental improvement in job prospects. Because the situation calls for aggressive federal action to boost the economy, Congress must renew the emergency …