Fiscal Policy Program: Publications, Events and More

Maya MacGuineas in CQ | House Democrats Aim to bring Their War Supplemental

Communications — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:38:00 -0400

New America in the News:
. . . “The Blue Dogs are the heroes of this situation,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “I think the Blue Dogs are really flexing their muscles and showing they’re not going to vote for unpaid new spending programs.” . . . For the entire article, go to CQ.com.

CRFB in Chicago Tribune | "Republicans' Fight Against Tax Realities"

Communications — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:08:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

. . . [John McCain] rules out tax increases to cut the deficit, while vowing to get tough on spending. But the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says that while his proposals would slow the growth of spending, total outlays would still rise faster than inflation. Result: a larger deficit. . .

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Event Covered By the Wall Street Journal | 'Vital Signs in Health-Care Debate'

Communications — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:45:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget’s April 29 event that highlighted the presidential candidates' domestic policy plans appeared in David Wessel’s column in The Wall Street Journal (5/1/08). New America's Health Policy Program Director is quoted in the article.

. . Mr. Nichols says that Sen. McCain's plan to allow people in one state to buy individual insurance in another -- essentially deregulating this part of the insurance market -- amounts to "ideology trumping policy." Rational insurers will attract the healthy with low premiums and boost premiums for those with pre-existing conditions. "Fifty to 75 million Americans will discover what 'actuarially fair' really means," he says. (Sharply higher premiums.) The result, he predicts, will be a rush to Medicare-for-all that Republicans will hate. . .

Maya MacGuineas in Conde Nast Portfolio | 'The Problem with Paulson'

Communications — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:27:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

. . .Paulson did help promulgate reports about the nation’s fiscal woes and tried to revive interest in Bush’s moribund Social Security plan. “He worked with all the stakeholders,” says Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “He talked to everyone.” . . .

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in National Journal | "For McCain, a 20 Percent Solution"

Communications — Sat, 10 May 2008 07:00:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

. . . By Holtz-Eakin's estimate, growth in entitlement programs--primarily Medicare and Medicaid--will drive federal spending from today's 20 percent of GDP to almost 26 percent in 2030. Such a large public sector, Holtz-Eakin argues in the paper, would impair economic growth and flexibility, and endanger America's limited-government heritage. The challenge, then, is to stabilize the country's finances at around 20 percent of GDP in 2030. . .

. . . His reform proposals are all debatable, but what is significant about Holtz-Eakin's paper is that it gets the conceptual framework right. "The far more important goal is 2030 rather than five years from now," says Maya MacGuineas, who directs the fiscal policy program at the New America Foundation.

. . . If he made long-term solvency a predominant theme of his candidacy, instead of treating it as a footnote to tax cuts, McCain could touch all of those bases, a nice trick. "There's a chance here for a really dramatic next chapter," MacGuineas says, "a whole reframing of what the challenges are." . . .

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in USA Today | 'GI Benefits Stymie Funding Bill'

Communications — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:31:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

. . . Budget experts outside Congress were even more incensed. David Walker, the former U.S. comptroller general who has said the nation faces $53 trillion in unfunded federal liabilities over the coming century, called it "morally reprehensible." Criticism also came from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Concord Coalition deficit watchdog group. . .

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in Town Hall | "Will Washington Heed the Wake-Up Call?"

Communications — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:36:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

. . . Traditionally, the Comptroller General (chief accountant) does not speak out about policy, but, given the severity of our fiscal climate, Walker felt compelled to do so. And so he has traveled the country on a “Fiscal Wake-Up Tour,” with the best minds of Washington’s leading conservative and liberal think tanks in tow, to sound the alarm. . . Beyond the leadership of the Government Accountability Office, other organizations on the Tour include the Heritage Foundation, the Brookings Institution, the Committee for Economic Development, the Association for Government Accountants, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, AARP, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and multiple state treasurers and auditors. . .

Maya MacGuineas in CQ Politics | "A Softer Pay-as-You-Go Stance"

Communications — Sun, 04 May 2008 17:40:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

. . .Based on what McCain has outlined so far, “the policies have been more on the blow-a-hole-in-the-deficit side than the pay-as-you-go side,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. . . The one saving grace, MacGuineas said, is that Hassett describes McCain’s economic plan as a work in progress, with plans for deeper cuts in spending likely this summer. “The McCain people will say, ‘Don’t judge us yet,’ ” she said. . .

Policy Analyst, Next Social Contract Initiative

Operations — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:51:00 -0400

Intro/Description

The New America Foundation seeks a Policy Analyst to provide research and analytical support to senior staff and Fellows working on the broad range of topics covered under our Next Social Contract Initiative, which was launched in early 2007. This Initiative, which brings together our core domestic policy programs, is designed to advance a new meta-narrative, organizing principles, and detailed policy proposals attuned to the 21st century. Overall, the Initiative seeks to inform and shape key social policy debates, especially those that figure in the 2008 presidential election as well as in the new Congress and administration in 2009. Policy areas include health care, economic security, retirement security, asset ownership, education reform, work and family, fundamental tax reform, and budget policy. For more information about the Next Social Contract Initiative, see http://www.newamerica.net/issues/next_social_contract.

Responsibilities

Provide analytical support and conduct secondary research.
Evaluate academic literature and economic data.
Perform analyses of policy proposals, and participate in policy design efforts.
Assist in pubic education and outreach efforts that focus on opinion leaders and policymakers.
Brief Members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, regulators, and other policymakers.

Qualifications

Ideal candidates will have the following qualifications:

Proven quantitative, analytic, and research skills;
Demonstrated ability to accurately and concisely summarize complex information to multiple audiences;
Solid knowledge of and/or experience in the policy areas relevant to the Initiative;
At least three years of relevant experience, preferably at the national level;
Strong writing skills, especially the ability to communicate policy ideas and legislative proposals concisely and effectively to diverse audiences; and
Undergraduate degree in economics, public policy, social policy, law, or related fields.

Application Process

Please mail, fax, or e-mail a resume and a brief cover letter summarizing your interests and qualifications to: Human Resources, New America Foundation, 1630 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20009. Fax: 202-986-3696. E-mail: jobs@newamerica.net. Please state “Policy Analyst, Next Social Contract Initiative” in the e-mail subject line. No phone calls, please.

Generous salary package commensurate with experience; excellent benefits. The New America Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.

The Presidential Candidates' Domestic Policy Plans

Communications — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
04/29/2008 - 8:30am

On Tuesday the 29th of April, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, in association with the New America Foundation, American University and the Tax Foundation, hosted an event concerning the major domestic policy issues facing the nation before the upcoming presidential election. Focusing on the candidates’ policy proposals, the event featured four panels of policy experts. The first three—on climate change, health care, and tax reform—featured independent experts from across the political spectrum, expressing varied and often contradictory views on their issues of expertise. The final panel featured economic advisors from the campaigns themselves, who gave the audience a glimpse of the candidates’ views on these important policy issues.

The first panel, moderated by David Wessel of the Wall Street Journal, concerned climate change policy. The panelists, William Pizer of Resources for the Future, Nikki Roy of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and Robert McNally of the Tudor Investment Corporation agreed that all three candidates had promising positions on the issue from the perspective of an environmentalist. At the same time, all three expressed skepticism about the candidates’ commitment to the issue. Pizer pointed out that there are four major components to a national environmental policy—cost, competitiveness, allocation and treatment of preexisting state-level climate policies—that will make climate legislation difficult to design and equally difficult to move through congress. Roy complained that none of the candidates were campaigning on the issue, despite supporting it on their websites. Without putting it out front in the campaign, he suggested, the candidates would not have the political capital to push legislation through once they are elected. McNally added that whatever legislation eventually passed would take years to do so, and that eventual success might have to be driven by a small energy crisis, such as widespread brown-outs in major cities. In the end, the panelists agreed that the scientific community had reached a strong consensus, but disagreed about whether the American public would continue to support climate change policy as it drives up energy bills.

The second panel, also moderated by Wessel, featured a discussion on healthcare reform from John Sheils of the Lewin Group, Joe Antos of the American Enterprise Institute, and Len Nichols of the New America Foundation. Sheils spoke first, discussing the employer tax exclusion for health insurance and the problems associated with it. In addition to costing around $250 billion in forgone public revenue, he explained, the exclusion is regressive and leads to over-purchasing of health insurance. It could be improved, he suggested, by replacing the exclusion with a standard deduction or tax credit. Nichols and Antos spoke next, taking turns discussing the good and bad parts of the Presidential candidates’ proposals. Nichols spoke favorably of McCain’s willingness to propose supply-side delivery system reforms and his decision to use the existing employer tax exclusion funds to subsidize individuals through a tax credit, rather than a tax deduction. At the same time, Nichols expressed concerns that McCain’s proposal to allow insurance to be purchased across state lines would leave insurance inaccessible for some Americans, particularly the sick, and disappointment that McCain has not discussed covering all Americans as a goal. Antos liked that the Democrats focused on bringing down healthcare costs and included some elements of consumerism, and was also happy that neither was claiming universal coverage as a free lunch. At the same time, he felt their plans include promises which couldn’t be kept, such as universal coverage and insurance “as good as your Congressman’s,” while over-regulating, overspending, and providing a back-door to single-payer healthcare.

The third panel, on tax policy, was moderated by Rudy Penner of the Urban Institute. Penner gave opening remarks, and then handed the microphone over to Alex Brill of the American Enterprise Institute, Len Burman of the Tax Policy Center and Scott Hodge of the Tax Foundation. All three agreed that tax policy is reaching a crucial point, with the Bush tax cuts expiring, the AMT reaching millions of new taxpayers every year, and the costs of government rising. Both Brill and Hodge supported McCain’s proposal to lower the corporate rate, citing its positive effect on growth and American competitiveness. Burman had few kind words for the current slate of policies the candidates have proposed, reserving particular disapproval for McCain’s gas-tax-holiday proposal, which Clinton has since supported. Following their opening remarks on the candidates’ plans, the panelists discussed the potential for a value added tax (VAT) to help solve some of these problems. All three agreed that it could be a useful tool, with Burman suggesting that it might help pay for health care, and Hodge saying that it could cover some of the cost of lowering the corporate tax rate.

The final panel, also moderated by Penner, featured a discussion between the economic advisors of the remaining presidential candidates, including Brian Deese, Dan Tarullo, and Kevin Hassett of the Clinton, Obama, and McCain campaigns, respectively. All three representatives believed his candidate would be best for the economy, but set out different economic goals. According to Tarullo, Obama’s policies will aim to foster a stable environment for economic growth, relief for the middle class, improved productivity, and a sustainable international economic environment. McCain, according to Hassett, would lower tax rates and improve the tax code to encourage economic growth and international competitiveness, while ensuring that lower taxes are accompanied by smaller government. Deese, finally, explained Clinton’s goals of addressing the “middle-class squeeze,” increasing the international attractiveness, restoring fiscal responsibility, and ensuring proactive and pragmatic executive leadership to address economic problems as they come.

-Marc Goldwein and Paul McLaughlin, Program Associates for the Fiscal Policy Program

Policy Director, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Operations — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:42:00 -0400

Intro/Description

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (www.crfb.org) is a bipartisan, non-profit organization committed to educating the public about issues that have significant fiscal policy impact. The Committee is housed at the New America Foundation. Currently, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has an immediate opening for a Policy Director.

Responsibilities

Track and analyze budget and tax issues;
Research new budget and tax ideas;
Write papers including short policy briefs, long research papers, op-eds, and articles;
Build basic budget models;
Represent the Committee at conferences, meetings and on event panels.

Qualifications

Ideal candidates will have the following qualifications:

A graduate degree in economics or public policy, or equivalent experience;
Expertise in budget and tax policy;
Excellent writing skills;
Strong quantitative, analytical, and research skills; and the
Ability to accurately and concisely summarize complex information for a broad range of audiences.

Application Process

Mail, fax, or e-mail resume, one-page letter summarizing your interests and qualifications, writing sample (no more than 25 pages), plus any op-eds or magazine articles published, name and contact information of three references (letters not necessary), and salary expectations to: Human Resources, New America Foundation, 1630 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20009. Fax: 202-986-3696. E-mail: jobs@newamerica.net.

Generous salary package commensurate with experience; excellent benefits. The New America Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in Christian Science Monitor | "U.S. Deficit at Record High and Rising"

Communications — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:13:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

. . .At an April 2 round table hosted by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, McCain economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin suggested that reducing the federal budget "is not an end in itself," according to a summary of the event published by CRFB. Rather than focusing on red ink, a president should talk about all the important issues related to the budget, including the need to protect US security and help American families, he said. . .

CRFB in U.S. Fed News | "Private Tax Collection, Safe Commission"

Communications — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:24:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

CRFB was included in Rep. Frank R. Wolf’s (R-Va.10th CD) newsletter:

. . .The Cooper-Wolf SAFE Commission legislation has been endorsed by groups across a wide political spectrum - groups who usually disagree more than they agree on policy issues - the Brookings Institution, the Heritage Foundation, the Concord Coalition, and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The Business Roundtable and National Federation of Independent Business are also on board. . .

How Much Does the Federal Government Spend To Promote Economic Mobility, And For Whom?

Fiscal Policy — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:30:00 -0400

In an economically mobile market economy, individuals and families are able to raise their private incomes, wealth, and ability (sometimes referred to as human capital) over time and across generations. In the United States, many associate economic mobility with the pursuit of the American Dream. Education, work experience, and saving enhance the opportunity for upward economic mobility. To this end, many federal spending and tax expenditure or tax subsidy programs aim to enhance economic mobility. But exactly how much does the federal government encourage economic mobility? What form does this encouragement take? And who benefits from these efforts?

To begin answering these… more

Maya MacGuineas in GOP USA | Making Tax Day Less Painful While Reducing Deficits

Communications — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:55:00 -0400

New America in the News:
Full article

. . . Maya MacGuineas of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says that these $800 billion a year in "tax expenditures are really spending programs designed to look like tax cuts." . . .

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's Annual Dinner in Capital Gains | "The Only Thing Missing Was The Red Carpet"

Communications — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:56:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

If there is such a thing, much of the fiscal policy world's glitterari were in full display on Wednesday night when the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget hosted its annual dinner in Washington, D.C. There were current and former OMB, CBO, and GAO directors; the economic advisors to (in alphabetical order) presidential candidates Clinton, McCain, and Obama; current and former House and Senate Budget Committee chairmen; lots of other former and sitting members of Congress; a number of chief economists from federal budget and economic agencies; and congressional staffers galore. . . Maya MacGuineas, the president of the CRFB, and her team are to be congratulated . . . First, it reminded me of something that, I suspect like most people, I have to be continually reminded about: the budget and fiscal policy are political problems and can only be dealt with through political agreements. . .

Taking Back Our Fiscal Future

Fiscal Policy — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:57:00 -0400

The authors of this paper are longtime federal budget and policy experts who have been drawn together by a deep concern about the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook. Our group covers the ideological spectrum. We are affiliated with a diverse set of organizations. We have been meeting informally for over a year, under the auspices of The Brookings Institution and The Heritage Foundation, to define the dimensions and consequences of the looming federal budget problem, examine alternative solutions, and reach agreement on what should be done. Despite our diverse philosophies and political leanings, we have found solid common ground. We… more

New America Foundation in Wall Street Journal | "Experts Call for Long-Term Budgets for Entitlements"

Communications — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:03:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

A broad coalition of federal budget experts, spanning the ideological spectrum of Washington think tanks from left to right, proposed Monday that Congress and the president set explicit, “sustainable” long-term budgets for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and create a mechanism that would force changes when projected spending exceeds budgeted amounts. . . Among the other participants are scholars from the American Enterprise Institute, Concord Coalition, New America Foundation, Progressive Policy Institute and Urban Institute. The work is supported by several foundations. . .

Maya MacGuineas in The Washington Times | Making Tax Day Less Painful

Communications — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:52:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Making Tax Day Less Painful (The Washington Times)

. . . Maya MacGuineas of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says that these $800 billion a year in "tax expenditures are really spending programs designed to look like tax cuts." . . . more

Maya MacGuineas in Reuters News | 'Simmering Domestic Issues Face Next U.S. President'

Communications — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:49:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Simmering Domestic Issues Face Next U.S. President (Reuters News)

. . . "It is an agenda waiting for the president, rather than an agenda the president gets to set," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan group that advocates fiscal discipline. more