Fiscal Policy Program: Latest Articles

Rising insecurity in the oil producing regions of the world along with rising carbon levels in the atmosphere are pushing Congress to update our nation’s energy policies. But far from providing a bold solution to our converging environmental, energy and security dilemmas, the bill that has come out of the Senate to gradually increase fuel efficiency standards relies on timid half-measures. Congress should instead consider a more effective and long-overdue step towards energy independence and environmental protection -- implementing a… more

Democrats are in a bind when it comes to their domestic economic agenda. They have promised a number of new and costly initiatives such as fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax, providing middle-class tax relief, and increasing spending on homeland security and education. But they have also made a commitment to fiscal responsibility. So how can they deliver on their promises without opening themselves up to the old "tax and spend" label? Reforming tax entitlements -- a large, mostly under-the-radar part… more

Will 2007 be the year of fundamental tax reform? It should be, but in all likelihood, it will not be. Still, there are plenty of changes that could be made to move the tax code in the right direction.

First, the reasons there should be tax reform. Everybody hates the tax code. There is no better political rallying cry than "I am going to reform the tax code to make it simpler, fairer, and better for the economy." The same… more

Something is missing from the current debate over the hundred-year old estate tax. Instead of eliminating it or merely scaling it back to a point beyond recognition, we should instead be considering expanding the tax on money passed from one generation to the next.

Proponents of repealing the so-called death tax, which oftentimes taxes a person's earnings twice -- once when earned and then at death -- argue that it is unfair (not to mention morbid.)

Rather than pointing out the flaws… more

Although President Bush has presided over significant growth in federal spending, Congress routinely added to every budget he proposed in the last five years. On average, the extra spending totaled $80 billion a year, including supplemental appropriations for Iraq, Afghanistan and national disasters. By contrast, Congress routinely authorized less spending that President Clinton wanted.

So although Bush's proposed 2007 budget requests the second-largest spending increase in a decade, look for Congress to up the ante. For the chart detailing… more