About the Fiscal Policy Program

Our nation's current approach to tax and spending fails all three of the most important tests of sound fiscal policy: the tests of efficiency, sufficiency and fairness. In particular, our largest taxes punish work and saving, the revenues raised are far short of those needed, and even as income inequality has grown, our overall tax code has become less progressive. Our tax code has also become more complex, while suffering from a failure of coordination between different levels of government and an overall lack of transparency.

The purpose of New America's Fiscal Policy Program is to reframe the national debate and put forth concrete reform proposals in order to pave the way for a tax system that is simultaneously more fair and efficient, and a budget that better serves our most important national priorities.

The main activities of the Fiscal Policy Program include:

Reframing the Debate

In order to promote a more honest and public debate on fiscal policy, the Program works to improve the way our nation's tax and spending priorities are framed and discussed. Too often, for instance, tax policy debates focus on the federal income tax in isolation, even though this ignores the many other forms of taxation American families are subject to-from payroll taxes, to corporate income taxes, which are passed on to workers and consumers, to a wide array of state and local taxes. To counter such misperceptions, the Program regularly produces and disseminates consolidated assessments of current tax burdens at all levels of government, and of the allocation of public resources through both direct and indirect spending programs.

Policy Research

The Fiscal Policy Program's research agenda focuses on developing a range of innovative tax reform proposals that shift tax burdens to make the overall system more efficient and fair, particularly for low-income families and children. For instance, a Progressive Consumption Tax could be crafted to replace regressive payroll taxes, thereby meeting the twin goals of increasing national saving and progressivity, while also encouraging job creation and raising take-home pay for most American families. Such a tax shift would also be a more sensible way to fund Social Security and Medicare since it would help increase national saving prior to the upcoming retirement of the baby boom generation.

Recognizing that aggregate numbers are necessary to make the burdens and benefits of our policy choices more transparent, another part of the research agenda is to compile detailed data on both the revenue and expenditure sides of the budget by combining all local, state, and federal expenditures into a unified picture. The findings are used to provide a more accurate depiction of government policies and their effects on families and individuals, and to allow for a more thorough analysis of a number of cross-cutting issues including: tax burdens; spending by budget area; spending on consumption versus investment; and spending on transfers versus public goods.

Experts Working Groups

In order to truly redirect the discussion about fiscal policy, experts from across the tax policy landscape must be brought together in a forum where meaningful exchanges take place. Owing to its nonpartisan reputation, the New America Foundation has proven to be extremely effective in convening diverse groups of policy experts and decision makers to engage in policy development and forge new consensus. Building on New America's expertise, the Fiscal Policy Program convenes an experts working group composed of many of the best minds in tax policy from across the political spectrum. The exchanges allow for a testing and broadening of ideas, as well as a better understanding of various policy options. The members of the group also serve as an invaluable resource for input and feedback on ideas being developed within the Program. Finally, the meetings help build momentum for, and give rise to new partnerships in support of, the reform ideas that are produced by the Fiscal Policy Program.

Public Education

The most effective way to reframe the debate on tax policy and push new ideas to the forefront of the national debate is to educate opinion leaders, decision makers, and the informed public. Accordingly, the Fiscal Policy Program undertakes public education initiatives that include: the placement of high-profile articles and op-eds; broad dissemination of its reports, issue briefs, and articles; regular radio and television appearances; the hosting of conferences and events on topics related to the budget and taxation; and regular briefings of Members of Congress and their staffs. All of these activities serve to redirect the discussion from old and misguided approaches to tax and budget policy and toward a more comprehensive and transparent fiscal policy framework that better reflects shared national priorities.