Monetary Policy
What is inflation, and why has it been so high?
Budget battles continue in Washington even after the White House and Congress cut a last-minute deal to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff.” With the imminent threat of default removed for now, the next potential challenge to the economy could come from sequestration, the across-the-board automatic government spending cuts that were the price of the last fight over the debt ceiling. To avoid sequestration, lawmakers must find ways to either add revenues or reduce spending in the coming months.
The Hamilton Project asked experts from a variety of backgrounds—the policy world, academia, and the private sector—and from both sides of the political aisle, to provide innovative, pragmatic proposals for lowering the deficit by reducing expenditures or raising revenues, and that take into account impacts to the economy at large.
The resulting 13 proposals range across budget groups, and include options to reduce mandatory and discretionary programs, to improve economic efficiency, and touch on topics as wide ranging as immigration, transportation, healthcare, and mortgage interest. This diverse group of authors will convene in at a forum on February 26 in Washington, DC to discuss their ideas in a series of roundtable discussions.
Following each roundtable, the panelists will take audience questions.
