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Fiscal Policy
With Congress failing to pass a new appropriations authorization, a partial shutdown of U.S. federal government services has commenced, and the divide over fiscal issues is likely to grow as the nation approaches the debt ceiling at the end of October. Brookings experts have a long history of analyzing the federal budget and providing recommendations for long-term fiscal responsibility.
Opinion
September 30, 2013, Henry J. Aaron
Blog Post
comments
September 30, 2013, Philip A. Wallach
September 27, 2013, Fred Dews
Refine by: U.S. Economic Performance | U.S. Budget Deficit | Fiscal Policy | Taxes
Interview | Washington Post Wonkblog
September 27, 2013, Neil Irwin
In the News
The Congress ought to get serious. They need to raise the debt ceiling so we don’t have this ridiculous counterproductive argument again. September 5, 2013, Alice M. Rivlin, Bloomberg
The Congress ought to get serious. They need to raise the debt ceiling so we don’t have this ridiculous counterproductive argument again.
Expert Q & A | Michael E. O'Hanlon
May 13, 2013, Michael E. O'Hanlon
Interview | NPR
March 3, 2013, Thomas E. Mann
What has a chance of going somewhere if the president and the Congress can get back together is some version of a grand bargain, and a grand bargain means we have to slow the growth of the entitlements, especially Medicare and Medicaid. We have to put Social Security back on a firm foundation. And we have to reform our tax code so it raises some more revenue. We need to do that and stop fooling around with this counterproductive thing called the sequester, which is bad macro policy, it would reduce employment when we don't want to. February 23, 2013, Alice M. Rivlin, CNN
What has a chance of going somewhere if the president and the Congress can get back together is some version of a grand bargain, and a grand bargain means we have to slow the growth of the entitlements, especially Medicare and Medicaid. We have to put Social Security back on a firm foundation. And we have to reform our tax code so it raises some more revenue. We need to do that and stop fooling around with this counterproductive thing called the sequester, which is bad macro policy, it would reduce employment when we don't want to.
There's a defense wing of defense hawks, and they've been pretty vocal about the impact on the Defense Department and national security, generally. And we know there's a hard-core group as well that's opposed to any and all revenue increases. And between the two of those, there's no agreed-upon path of what to do, and so it looks like they may prefer the sequester to any alternative — certainly the alternatives the Democrats are offering up. February 21, 2013, Sarah A. Binder, National Public Radio
There's a defense wing of defense hawks, and they've been pretty vocal about the impact on the Defense Department and national security, generally. And we know there's a hard-core group as well that's opposed to any and all revenue increases. And between the two of those, there's no agreed-upon path of what to do, and so it looks like they may prefer the sequester to any alternative — certainly the alternatives the Democrats are offering up.
Podcast
February 20, 2013, Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney
The important shift seems to be the [Obama] administration is not waiting for the legislature, [but is] maximizing the things they can do themselves. [More private capital into infrastructure investment] is not going to solve all our infrastructure problems—we still have a long way to go. [However,] this will go a long way. February 19, 2013, Robert Puentes, New York Times
The important shift seems to be the [Obama] administration is not waiting for the legislature, [but is] maximizing the things they can do themselves. [More private capital into infrastructure investment] is not going to solve all our infrastructure problems—we still have a long way to go. [However,] this will go a long way.
The steps that I think are most promising are really about changing payment methods to reward providers for better health outcomes. January 21, 2013, Mark B. McClellan, Financial Times
The steps that I think are most promising are really about changing payment methods to reward providers for better health outcomes.
In watching Congress for more than 40 years I've never seen such a total mess. We really are entering the worst of all worlds. The result is awful. The process is a disgrace. The Democratic and Republican leaders are talking at each other, not with each other. And we have a president who doesn't want to lead on fiscal matters. I don't see how this ends well. January 15, 2013, Bill Frenzel, MNI
In watching Congress for more than 40 years I've never seen such a total mess. We really are entering the worst of all worlds. The result is awful. The process is a disgrace. The Democratic and Republican leaders are talking at each other, not with each other. And we have a president who doesn't want to lead on fiscal matters. I don't see how this ends well.
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Alice M. Rivlin
Director, Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform
Senior Fellow, Economic Studies
Elaine Kamarck
Founding Director, Center for Effective Public Management
Senior Fellow, Governance Studies
@EKamarck
Michael E. O'Hanlon
Director of Research, Foreign Policy
Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence
William G. Gale
Co-Director, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center
Director, Retirement Security Project