On September 22, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction held a hearing on revenue options and tax reform.
On September 21, the House Budget Committee Republican staff posted a study that is highly critical of President Obama’s tax and budget policies.
On September 21, former Congressional Budget Office director Alice Rivlin testified before the House Budget Committee on fixing the budget process.
On September 21, the journal National Affairs published an article by conservative economist Andrew Biggs warning against means-testing entitlement programs because the withdrawal of benefits creates high de facto tax rates.
On September 20, the International Monetary Fund published the latest edition of its Fiscal Monitor.
On September 19, the White House released a new budget plan to guide the work of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.
A September 19 Gallup poll found that people believe the federal government wastes 51 cents out of every $1 it spends. By contrast, state governments are thought to waste only 42 cents and local governments just 38 cents.
On September 16, the Bank for International Settlements published a paper examining the impact of debt on economic growth. It finds that when any form of debt – government, corporate, or household – goes beyond 85 percent to 90 percent of GDP it becomes a drag on growth.
I last posted items on this topic on September 20.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column for The Fiscal Times. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).
