Aug 31, 2017 | Economics
Does 3% Growth Mean We Can Go Much Higher?
Yesterday, President Trump gave a speech in which he mentioned that the U.S. economy grew 3.0 percent in the second quarter. While this is a solid...
Blog | August 2017
Welcome to our blog – The Bottom Line, where you’ll find up-to-date commentary and analysis on the most important news in the fiscal world. Below is a list of our blog posts.
Aug 30, 2017 | Taxes
Current Policy Gimmick Would Add Half-Trillion to Debt
Some tax cutters would like tax reform to embrace a troubling budget gimmick: a current policy baseline. Congressional leaders have set a revenue-...
Aug 29, 2017 | Health Care
The ACA's Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSRs): A Primer
On October 13, the Trump Administration announced that it would no longer make cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments as of October 18. Below is our...
Aug 24, 2017 | Budgets & Projections
The Fed's Effect on Deficits and Debt
As monetary policy watchers descend upon Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual economic policy symposium, we...
Aug 23, 2017 | Other Spending
Are We Spending Billions of Dollars More on the Military?
During his speech detailing his new strategy for Afghanistan, President Trump said, "Under my administration, many billions of dollars more is being...
Do Retroactive Tax Cuts Do Much to Boost Economic Growth?
As talk of tax reform heats up, some are calling for tax cuts to be made retroactive. An article in The Hill reports that Representative Mark Meadows...
Aug 14, 2017 | Social Security
Social Security's 82nd Birthday
Today, the Social Security program turns 82 years old. Social Security helps millions of Americans, and the program has a lot to celebrate.
But the...
Aug 10, 2017 | Health Care
Problem Solvers Caucus Finds Bipartisan Compromise on Health Care
The bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus last week released a plan to stabilize the individual insurance market and make other changes to health care...
Aug 10, 2017 | Budget Process
House and Senate Move Forward on FY 2018 Appropriations
The appropriations season is moving forward before Congress has passed a budget. Below, we explain how that can happen.
Typically, Congress is...
Aug 9, 2017 | Budget Process
Maya MacGuineas: Take It from a Fiscal Hawk: Raise the Debt Ceiling
Maya MacGuineas is president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and head of the Campaign to Fix the Debt. She recently...