Fiscal Policy Program: Recent and Upcoming Events

Four politically diverse tax experts will release their new paper, "Towards Bipartisan Tax Policy" at a forum hosted by the New America Foundation, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, American University's Center for Public Finance Research, the Concord Coaltion, and the Tax Foundation, on Thursday, February 12, 2009.

On December 5, 2008, the New America Foundation’s Next Social Contract Initiative hosted a three panel discussion about the future of social policy after the economic downturn. David Gray, Director of the Workforce and Family Program at New America, opened the event with preliminary remarks. Karen Kornbluh, formerly of the New America Foundation, policy director in the office of Senator Barack Obama and the primary author of the 2008 Democratic Party Platform, delivered the keynote address. She was followed by a series of

On Wednesday, October 8th, experts from private industry, think tanks and government came together on two panels to discuss the recent financial crisis and its effect on future policy. The first panel discussed the economic conditions surrounding the bailout and possible government responses, and featured Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy.com, Martin Baily of the Brookings Insititution, Rob Dugger of the Tudor Investment Corporation, Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and Tim Adams of The Lindsey Group. The second panel covered the likely… more

On Monday, September 15th, six experts in fiscal policy and healthcare policy debated the nature of the nation’s pending fiscal crisis at the National Press Club. Moderated by TaxVox editor Howard Gleckman, the event featured Henry Aaron and Alice Rivlin of the Brookings Institution, Julie Barnes and Maya MacGuineas of the New America Foundation, Robert Greenstein of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, and Eugene Steuerle of the Peterson Foundation. Henry Aaron warned that long-term deficit projections would… more

On October 28th, 1997, House Speaker Newt Gingrich and President Bill Clinton held a secret meeting where they reached a groundbreaking deal to create a centrist political coalition to reform Social Security and Medicare. Although the Lewinsky scandal ultimately undermined their agreement, the efforts of these men, and others in Congress, might serve as a model for members of both parties interested in addressing the long-term shortfalls in the nation's entitlement programs. Steven Gillon will discuss the details of… more

On Tuesday, June 24, 2008 the New America Foundation’s Next Social Contract Initiative hosted a panel discussion with Yale Law School professor Michael Graetz; Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and Director of the Fiscal Policy Program at New America; and Michael Lind, Whitehead Senior Fellow at New America. Professor Graetz spoke on his new book, 100 Million Unnecessary Returns: A Simple, Fair, and Competitive Tax Plan for the United States. The panelists offered… more

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… more

Phillip Longman began by framing the core question of the event: are we in a transformative political moment, and what would that mean? Even after a decade of debilitating partisanship, Rovian strategists and Netroots bloggers continue to exacerbate political polarization. Yet, with the likely nominations of John McCain and Barack Obama, observers of all political stripes have sensed the prospect of a political sea-change. Whether it is a government unified around a bold progressive majority, a resurgent and transmuted conservatism,… more

On Tuesday, February 19th, the Fiscal Policy Program at the New America Foundation held a joint event with the Heritage Foundation entitled "Rethinking Social Insurance.” At this event, Maya MacGuineas (New America Foundation) and Stuart Butler (Heritage Foundation) released a paper by the same name, which then received comments from former CBO directors Alice Rivlin (Brookings Institution) and Rudolph Penner (Urban Institute). The event was moderated by Jodie Allen, Senior Editor of the Pew… more

On Thursday, Dec. 6, the Fiscal Policy Program at the New America Foundation held an event at the Cannon House Office Building entitled "Patch it or Pitch It: Options for Reforming the Alternative Minimum Tax."

Maya MacGuineas, Director of the Fiscal Policy Program and President of the Committee for a Responsible Budget, hosted the event, which featured remarks by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Ranking Member on the House Budget Committee Paul Ryan (R-WI). Following their… more

On Nov. 13, 2007, Maya MacGuineas, director of the Fiscal Policy Program at the New America Foundation and President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, hosted an event featuring Dr. Peter Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office. At the event, Orszag released a CBO paper entitled “The Long-Term Outlook for Health Care Spending.” This paper precedes the regular release of the long-term budget outlook, of which health care is a major component.

Introducing Orszag, MacGuineas… more

On Oct. 23, 2007, the New America Foundation co-hosted a forum entitled The Unavoidable Challenge: Confronting Our Nation’s Fiscal Crisis with the Heritage Foundation and the Public Policy Institute. The event consisted of speeches by Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and two panel discussions on policy options and political opportunities for reform.

Maya MacGuineas, director of the Fiscal Policy Program at New America and president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, kicked… more

When it comes to the economy, it's often said that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Yet most economists have been confounded by the failure of recent productivity gains to significantly raise the incomes for the majority of American workers.

At this special event, a presentation of the Next Social Contract Initiative at the New America Foundation, MIT economists Frank Levy and Peter Temin presented their new paper “Inequality and Institutions in 20th Century America,” which… more

President Bush will send his FY 2008 budget to Congress February 5th. It is widely expected that he will call for a balanced budget by 2012. Will this goal be a realistic one? What new policies will be included in the President’s budget? (And which should be?) How will war costs be treated? What assumptions will be used concerning spending, revenue, and economic growth? Will this be a budget the Democratic Congress declares “dead on arrival” or will… more

The recent turnover in Congress, combined with a wide open presidential election cycle, creates a rare opportunity to bring new ideas into the political process. The spirit of this new era will be captured by those -- from either party or no party -- who embrace innovative yet pragmatic solutions to the foremost challenges facing our nation.

At this event, the New America Foundation released a major new report outlining Ten Big Ideas for a New America, and… more

CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin discussed the hot off the presses "Long-Term Budget Outlook" at the New America Foundation on December 15th, 2005. The report is released every two years, and examines the challenges facing lawmakers over the coming decades as they consider ways to alleviate the looming fiscal crisis confronting our federal budget. Following Holtz-Eakin's presentation, Maya MacGuineas, Director of New America Foundation's Fiscal Policy Program and President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, moderated a lively question… more

Tax reform will be on the national agenda this coming year. Considered the opening salvo in a much-needed debate, the President's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform recently released its recommendations to reform the federal tax code. Tax experts with differing goals and differing perspectives will come together to discuss their own recommendations for reforming the tax code. Key questions to be addressed include: What constitutes a fair tax code? What are the priorities in reforming the tax code? Do… more

The New America Foundation, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and the Committee for Economic Development convened a forum on the budget deficit in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Entitled "Paying for Katrina: Specifics for Closing the Fiscal Gap," and covered live by C-SPAN 2 on Monday, November 14, 2005, the forum featured experts from a diversity of ideological perspectives.

Despite this diversity, there was a surprising degree of consensus among the panelists, who expressed universal alarm with our… more

Jodie Allen Introduced the panel by highlighting the growing mainstream awareness of class-based issues, as evidenced by the recent New York Times and Wall Street Journal series on the topic.

Al Checchi identified five areas which need to be addressed to improve the plight of the middle class: technology, immigration, public education, the strength of the labor movement, and functioning of the political system. Also advocated increasing the minimum wage to the level of the living wage. The gap between the… more

The world today is very different than when Social Security was created. A number of issues should be considered when thinking about how to reform Social Security, including:

Should we update benefits to reflect changes in family status and economic well-being of the elderly?

Can our children really afford to finance our spending such a large portion of our life in retirement?

Should Social Security reform be used to help strengthen the economy through increased work and saving?

How should we think about Social… more