Fiscal Policy Program: Latest Articles

While Democrats and Republicans continue to bicker about tax cuts, they are ignoring the debate we should be having. That is, how can this nation fundamentally reform the tax code to achieve three critical goals: simplification, economic growth, and equitable tax burdens? What we need is a complete overhaul of our tax system -- from one that encourages a debt-consumption economy to one focused on saving and investment. This can best be done by instituting a "progressive consumption tax."

The… more

With military victory in Iraq secured, it is time to recognise another battle being waged on America's home front -- a generational war. When two countries go to war, one side usually wins. But generational warfare is a losing proposition for all because of the long-term social, fiscal and political strife it creates.

The final bill to US taxpayers for regime change in Iraq will probably total in the hundreds of billions of dollars. By contrast, the liabilities now… more

President Bush's proposed budget blurs the important distinctions between stimulus and growth. Given the differing objectives of the two -- on the one hand increasing spending to stimulate the economy in the short term and on the other increasing saving to boost longer-term growth -- it is nearly impossible to accomplish both.

With the stimulus and growth components of the president's economic proposals canceling each other out, the budget plan is likely to accomplish neither.

When stimulus is the objective,… more

The midterm elections ended the misconception that proposing changes to Social Security leads to a swift political death. President Bush has repeated his support for voluntary personal retirement accounts, and the moderate Democratic Leadership Council also leans toward the idea.

But how to pay for it? Reformers had targeted budget surpluses to fund the transition of Social Security from government collections and disbursements to personally directed investment accounts. But the war on terrorism and the recession-induced decline in tax revenue… more

Should death be taxed? Congressional supporters claim that this is the issue that was at the core of the failed legislation to repeal estate and gift taxes. Certainly this … more