SPOTLIGHT: Welfare
Reuters/Carlos Barria - A mother and her son travel on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama
Rebecca M. Blank and Brian Kovak, May 2008
There are a growing number of low-income single mothers who are long-term welfare recipients or are without steady employment. They tend to face more barriers to stable employment, with less education, younger children, higher rates of mental and physical health problems and substance abuse, and a history of domestic violence. This brief proposes a new program to link these mothers to medical and economic supports and give them greater assistance in securing employment.
Read More
Welfare, U.S. Poverty, Unemployment, Children & Families, Working Poor
Spotlight: Iraq and The Economy
Reuters/Mario Anzuoni - Shopper Barbara Armour sits by her cart at a Wal-Mart store in Santa Clarita
Martin Neil Baily, April 20, 2008
Martin Baily says that while many voters view the war in Iraq and the poor state of the economy as a cause and effect relationship, they are, in fact, two very different messes.
Read More
Iraq, U.S. Economy
SPOTLIGHT: Taxes
Reuters/Chip East - A man fills out tax forms to be mailed to the Internal Revenue Service, at the main post office in New York on tax day
Jason Furman, April 15, 2008
Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee on Tax Day—April 15, Jason Furman described how policy-makers can make the tax code more efficient by following principles of "tax neutrality" so that individuals' decisions are made on economic merits and not for tax reasons. Further, Furman argues, non-tax neutral measures to encourage such goals as homeownership or childcare should be implemented through refundable tax credits rather than deductions.
Read More
Taxes, Health Care, Corporate Taxes, U.S. Economy, Energy
SPOTLIGHT: U.S. Economy
Reuters/Shannon Stapleton - Demonstrators gather outside the Bear Stearns headquarters in New York
Alice M. Rivlin, April 11, 2008
Alice Rivlin discusses why the recent rescue of Bear Stearns by the Federal Reserve, was "money well spent." The Fed's actions, she says, were aimed at "protecting the rest of the country—and indeed the world—from the possibly devastating consequences of a financial meltdown."
Read More
U.S. Economy, Monetary Policy, Federal Reserve, Global Economics
SPOTLIGHT: Mortgage Market
Reuters/Molly Riley - Protesters at a rally in Washington, D.C. on the foreclosure crisis.
Douglas W. Elmendorf, April 10, 2008
Congress and the administration are moving forward in myriad ways to boost beleaguered homeowners and put the economy back on track. Doug Elmendorf, testifying before the Senate, urged policy-makers to expand the role of the Federal Housing Administration to help families in trouble refinance their mortgages, and offered comments on the compromise Senate housing bill.
Read More
Mortgage Market, Housing, Fiscal Policy, Real Estate, U.S. Economic Growth