Topic: U.S. Congressional Budget Office
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'Fiscal cliff' 101: 5 basic questions answered
President Obama and congressional leaders are working to stop the US from going over the “fiscal cliff,” a combination of higher taxes and lower spending set to take effect Jan. 1. Here are five steps to understanding what's going on.
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6 ways to avoid the 'fiscal cliff'
Republican congressional leaders and President Obama sharply disagree over how to deal with the impending “fiscal cliff.” But a successful plan shouldn’t be that hard to put in place. Here are six ways Washington can avoid the “fiscal cliff.”
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Six points where Mitt Romney and his economic advisers are mostly wrong
Mitt Romney’s economic plan is largely based on a whitepaper written by several “heavyweight” economists. The problem is, it's riddled with fundamental flaws. Here are six points where Mitt Romney and his economic advisers are mostly wrong about what ails the American economy and how to fix it.
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Briefing
Obama vs. Romney 101: 5 ways they differ on debt and deficits
President Obama and Mitt Romney offer sharply different views on how to get the nation back on a sustainable fiscal path. Here are five ways they differ on policies to cope with a soaring debt.
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The Paul Ryan budget: 5 go-to sources for understanding it
Looking for in-depth analysis of the Paul Ryan budget plan? D.C. Decoder has compiled a list of excellent sources to help you sort out truth from fiction.
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Decoder Wire
Romney, Obama, and 'redistribution': How much do US taxes reallocate wealth? (+video)The federal tax system is 'progressive' – meaning wealthier people pay taxes at a higher rate than others. It is, in effect, a wealth redistribution mechanism. But it's not new to Obama, or even more pronounced under him.
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How many will pay health-care tax penalty? CBO estimate rises 50 percent.
Citing a gloomier economic outlook, and to a lesser extent the Supreme Court ruling on Medicaid expansion, the CBO now estimates 6 million people will pay the health-care tax penalty by 2016.
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Does uncertainty cost the economy jobs? Fed researchers call it a big problem.
Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco say uncertainty over future taxes and other policies has raised unemployment by one to two percentage points. That's lots of jobs.
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Robert Reich
The Fed can't create jobs all by itselfLow interest rates won’t boost the economy without an expansive fiscal policy that makes up for the timid spending of consumers and businesses, Reich writes.
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Everything you need to know about budget 'sequestration' – except the consequences
The White House has reported on the $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts that are part of last year's debt ceiling deal. But how the cuts will impact individual programs remains unclear.
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Tax VOX
Do corporate tax breaks benefit the middle class?Revisions in the definition of the corporate income tax may assume that workers bear some of the corporate tax burden.
- Briefing
Obama vs. Romney 101: 5 ways they differ on debt and deficits
President Obama and Mitt Romney offer sharply different views on how to get the nation back on a sustainable fiscal path. Here are five ways they differ on policies to cope with a soaring debt.
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Obama spotlights new Medicare study in the Sunshine State
A new study found that health care costs would rise for future Medicare recipients under Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's plan. President Barack Obama will focus on the study's numbers as he campaigns for reelection in Florida.
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The Paul Ryan budget: 5 go-to sources for understanding it
Looking for in-depth analysis of the Paul Ryan budget plan? D.C. Decoder has compiled a list of excellent sources to help you sort out truth from fiction.
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Tax VOX
Fiscal cliff vs. tax-cut extension is gloom or doom. Is there another way?CBO's 'gloom' scenario means pushing the economy off the 'fiscal cliff' into recession. But deficits would plunge. 'Doom' means no recession but dangerous levels of debt.
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Global News Blog
Fiscally conservative Romney-Ryan ticket: Does it appeal in Germany?Germany has promoted austerity as central to fixing eurozone woes. So is there any resonance between Chancellor Merkel's views and the Romney-Ryan ticket?
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Mitt Romney's energy plan: What does it promise? (+video)
Mitt Romney unveiled his energy plan Thursday, saying that it would bring energy independence to the US within a decade. But some experts were skeptical of the claims.
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Economist Mom
CBO releases new budget outlook. What does it tell us?The basic message of the Congressional Budget Office's new budget outlook isn't really new, but it highlights the gap between the deficit and the laws we are making to pay for it.
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CBO on 'fiscal cliff': newest estimate is gloomiest yet
The CBO, Congress's budget watchdog, warns that the US economy will 'probably' slide back into recession, if the tax hikes and spending cuts mandated for year's end take effect.
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Opinion: Why Paul Ryan is no Ayn Rand on Social Security
Mitt Romney's running mate Paul Ryan deserves credit for trying to tackle the coming entitlement crisis. But whatever you can say about his plan for Social Security, you cannot ascribe it to Ayn Rand. Rand did not want to save Social Security; she wanted to end it.
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For a moment, at least, presidential campaigns get back to issues
On the Sunday TV talk shows, presidential campaign surrogates of both parties zeroed in on Medicare. But inevitably, Mitt Romney's so-far unreleased tax returns came up too.
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Paul Ryan: why taking Medicare message to Florida wasn’t a risk
In his visit to a retirement community in Florida, Paul Ryan pledged to 'preserve and protect' federal health benefits for those at or near retirement. And he brought along his mom to prove it.
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Keep Calm
Good Reads: Volcanoes, guillotines, and the key to happinessA look at modern France, and a profile of revolutionary villain Maximilien Robespierre; the American recovery and the very happy people of Iceland. Here are this week's good reads.
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Is Ryan the 'Coke Zero' of the Romney campaign? (+video)
One political analyst suggests that presidential contender Mitt Romney would like 'All the bold taste, but none of the calories of a detailed policy discussion' from his running mate Congressman Paul Ryan. This may be particularly true in discussions of healthcare.
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The Reformed Broker
We've become accustomed to its face: Tax cuts and 'My Fair Lady'With the Bush tax cuts set to expire in January, it seems there are far more problems than solutions when it comes to what we should be doing to try to control, and ultimately reverse, the effects of the recession.
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Robert Reich
When it comes to Medicare, which candidate's plan comes out on top?President Obama's Affordable Care Act uses its Medicare savings to help children and lower-income Americans afford health care, according to Robert Reich, while the Romney-Ryan plan uses the savings to finance tax cuts for the very wealthy.
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Tax VOX
Low taxes, smaller government, but not a balanced budget?Our tax expert crunches the numbers of the Paul Ryan financial plan. end result? While Romney's pick for vice president is often called a deficit hawk, in fact balancing the budget is not one of his high priorities.
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Economist Mom
Federal budget, are you ready for your close-up?We’re going to be talking a lot about deficits, debt and the federal budget in this election, which may be partisan politics, but will hopefully also get Americans thinking about what the government can do for them, and for how much.
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The Paul Ryan budget: your guide to what's in it
Rep. Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's running mate, is best known for drawing up a series of spending-and-tax plans meant to challenge the Obama administration's policies from the right. But it's been some time since his latest budget, which Mr. Ryan terms a "path to prosperity," was released. Here's a primer on what's in it.
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In joining Romney, will Paul Ryan get his 'clear choice' campaign? (+video)
Back in February, long before he got the vice presidential nod, Rep. Paul Ryan urged Mitt Romney to run an 'affirmative' campaign, laying out how he differs from Obama. Picking Ryan may signal Romney's intent to do just that.
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