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Wednesday February 10, 2010

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SPOTLIGHT: U.S. Economy


REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - A man demonstrates in New York City.

Save to My Portfolio Defining Deficits Down

Isabel V. Sawhill, January 29, 2010

Following the release of President Obama's budget, Isabel Sawhill believes there will be a lot of hand-wringing about the possible economic fallout from a virtually unprecedented accumulation of debt. Not only will this string of future deficits have dire economic consequences, she says, but will also reduce public confidence in their government. Ultimately, the budget’s insufficient proposals suggest that the current administration will be criticized for moving the goal posts on deficit reduction and for doing far too little to restore fiscal balance. Read More

U.S. Economy, Budget Deficit, U.S. Congress, U.S. Politics


Reuters/Mike Segar - U.S. Capitol building

The State of the Union: Not One but Three Deficits

Isabel Sawhill found President Obama’s first State of the Union address to have three distinct themes: the U.S. has a deficit of jobs, a deficit of dollars, and a deficit of trust. Although the president seems to understand the need to solve these three deficits, without a change in the political culture, his outlined proposals to fix the fiscal deficit will not do the job, asserts Sawhill. Read More

SPOTLIGHT: U.S. Economy


Reuters/Lucy Nicholson - Newspaper advertising jobs in California

Save to My Portfolio High Rates of Joblessness and the Deficit

Isabel V. Sawhill, December 09, 2009

Isabel Sawhill reacts to President Obama's speech on creating jobs and the economy, delivered at Brookings. She concludes that by proposing and then enacting key fiscal restraints now and then gradually phasing them in as the economy recovers, there need be no tension between the two objectives of keeping the recovery going and restoring fiscal discipline over the longer-term. Read More

U.S. Economy, Unemployment, U.S. Economic Growth

SPOTLIGHT: Fiscal Policy


U.S. Capitol Building

Save to My Portfolio Should Increasing the Progressivity of Entitlement Benefits be Part of a 21st Century American Social Contract?

William A. Galston, November 23, 2009

As the United States begins to recover from the deepest recession in decades, policymakers and the public are increasingly turning their attention to our long-term fiscal problems. To help alleviate the deficit, we need to fix the social contract. William Galston presents evidence which suggests that if done right, strengthening the link between income and net benefits would allow entitlement programs to meet essential social objectives without antagonizing upper-income beneficiaries and undermining cross-class coalitions. Read More

Fiscal Policy, Budget Deficit, U.S. Economy

About Us

The Budgeting for National Priorities project promotes greater fiscal responsibility by developing new ideas, educating the public and finding common ground among experts and policy-makers.

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Save to My Portfolio The Scouting Report: President Obama’s Budget Proposal

February 03, 2010

The Brookings Institution

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Recent Research and Commentary

Federal Budget The Potential Role of Entitlement or Budget Commissions in Addressing Long-term Budget Problems

The Fiscal Seminar Group, June 2009

Budget Deficit Obama and the Deficit

Isabel V. Sawhill, December 01, 2009

Health Care Bend the Revenue Curve: Health Reform Alone Won't End Deficits

Henry J. Aaron, Isabel V. Sawhill, October 13, 2009

Budget Deficit Strengthening United States Fiscal Policy

William A. Galston, November 10, 2009

More Recent Research and Commentary »

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Spotlight

ExpertAmy Liu

Amy Liu is deputy director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. Her policy studies include economic competitiveness, metropolitan growth and development, governance reforms, urban reinvestment, and social equity.

Research ProjectBrookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement

The Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement monitors displacement problems worldwide, works with governments, regional bodies, international organizations and civil society to create more effective policies and institutional arrangements for Internally Displaed Persons.

ExpertDomenico Lombardi

As president of the Oxford Institute for Economic Policy, Domenico Lombardi’s work at Brookings focuses on the international financial crisis and the reform of the IMF and the World Bank. He is an expert on G-20 and G8 Summits.

TopicEducation

The economic and political well-being of any society requires a well-educated citizenry. Brookings’s work extends beyond the K-12 bookends to include pre-school interventions, higher education and the challenges of education in developing countries.

Research ProjectAfrica Growth Initiative

The Africa Growth Initiative conducts high-quality policy research and analysis focused on attaining sustainable economic development and prosperity in Africa, while amplifying the voice of African researchers in policy-making and planning.

Research ProjectLatin America Initiative

The Latin America Initiative provides high-quality, in-depth, and independent research across a range of economic and political issues, and offers policy recommendations aimed at U.S. and Latin American policymakers.

ExpertIsabel V. Sawhill

A nationally known budget expert, Isabel Sawhill focuses on domestic poverty and federal fiscal policy. She is also co-director of the Center on Children and Families at Brookings.

TopicHealth Care

Brookings is committed to producing innovative policy solutions to our nation’s most difficult challenges. The country may face no more important domestic policy challenge than the much-needed reform of our health care system. Through an institution-wide effort, Brookings delivers new ideas and offers policy solutions to improve health care both at home and globally.

ExpertRichard C. Bush III

Richard Bush is the director of the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies. His public service career spans Congress, the intelligence community and the U.S. State Department. He currently focuses on China-Taiwan and U.S.-China relations, the Korean peninsula and Japan’s security.

Policy CenterCenter for Northeast Asian Policy Studies

CNAPS conducts research, analysis, and outreach designed to enhance policy development and understanding on the pressing political, economic, and security issues facing Northeast Asia.

Policy CenterUrban-Brookings Tax Policy Center

The Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, is comprised of nationally recognized experts in tax, budget and social policy who have served at the highest levels of government.

Policy CenterCenter on Children and Families

The Center on Children and Families studies policies on the well-being of America's children and their parents and seeks a more effective means of addressing poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity in the United States.

ExpertMark McClellan

Mark McClellan works on promoting high-quality, innovative and affordable health care. Once commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Dr. McClellan now directs the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform.

ExpertMwangi S. Kimenyi

Mwangi S. Kimenyi is a senior fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative. He focuses on Africa's development, including institutions for economic growth, the political economy, and private sector development.

Research ProjectArms Control Initiative

Few problems pose greater challenges to U.S. national security than controlling, reducing and countering the proliferation of nuclear arms. The Brookings Arms Control Initiative brings the Institution’s multidisciplinary strengths to bear on the critical challenges of arms control and non-proliferation.

ExpertVanda Felbab-Brown

Vanda Felbab-Brown focuses on the national security implications of illicit economies and strategies for managing them. She is an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

ExpertTed Gayer

Ted Gayer is the co-director of the Economic Studies program and the Joseph A. Pechman Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He conducts research on a variety of economic issues, focusing particularly on public finance, environmental and energy economics, housing, and regulatory policy.

ExpertSuzanne Maloney

Suzanne Maloney studies Iran, the political economy of the Persian Gulf and Middle East energy policy. A former U.S. State Department policy advisor, she has also counseled private companies on Middle East issues.