SPOTLIGHT: U.S. Economy

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - A man demonstrates in New York City.
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.
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U.S. Economy, Budget Deficit, U.S. Congress, U.S. Politics

Reuters/Mike Segar - U.S. Capitol building
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.
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SPOTLIGHT: U.S. Economy

Reuters/Lucy Nicholson - Newspaper advertising jobs in California
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.
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U.S. Economy, Unemployment, U.S. Economic Growth
SPOTLIGHT: Fiscal Policy

U.S. Capitol Building
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.
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Fiscal Policy, Budget Deficit, U.S. Economy