Publications -- Federal Spending

Jun 28, 2000

BA #329 – MySocialSecurity.org

Social Security has emerged as a key election year issue. Proposals have been introduced in Congress to allow younger workers to save a portion of their payroll taxes in personal retirement accounts. To help you understand how such personal accounts could affect retirement benefits, the NCPA has developed a Social Security calculator that compares the return from the Social Security payroll tax with the return if the entire amount were invested in a personal retirement account. (The calculator is not based on any of the proposals, all of which call for investing only a portion of the total payroll tax.)

Jun 01, 2000

ST #232 – Public Spending And Social Progress

Over the past century, government spending grew to an average of 45 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) among developed countries. Today, total government spending in the United States and other developed countries far exceeds the level at which it increases national income. This study examines the effects of government spending on certain noneconomic measures of social progress.

Mar 16, 2000

BA #314 – Prescription Drugs and Medicare Reform

President Clinton and some on Capitol Hill are proposing a costly prescription drug benefit for the elderly that could create huge new burdens for taxpayers. Fortunately, there is a way to solve the problem without costing taxpayers a single dime.

Jan 31, 2000

BA #312 – Bad Idea: Paying for Family Leave

At President Clinton's direction, the Department of Labor has published a proposed regulation that would allow states to pay unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to fathers and mothers who take time off for the birth or adoption of a child.

Jan 31, 2000

BA #311 – Patient Dissatisfaction

If the United States were to adopt the Canadian single--payer system of financing health care as some advocate, the change would not solve many of the problems attributed to the present system. Rather, it would replace one set of problems with another. According to a survey sponsored by the Harvard School of Public Health, which measured public opinion toward health care in five English--speaking countries, people in all five countries had roughly the same level of discontent with their system.

Dec 03, 1999

BA #309 – Bill Bradley's Health Plan: Two Steps Forward, Six Steps Back

Former Sen. Bill Bradley is the first credible presidential candidate to call for abolishing Medicaid and allowing low-income families to buy private insurance instead. He would also end the discriminatory practice of denying tax relief to those who buy their own insurance by creating tax credits for low-income purchasers and tax deductions for everyone else.

Jul 26, 1999

BA #300 – Simple Solutions for Elderly Prescription Drugs

President Clinton has proposed a new prescription drug entitlement for people on Medicare, the program covering 39 million seniors and the disabled. However, the plan has significant problems.

Jul 26, 1999

BA #302 – Five Principles of Social Security Reform

Politicians in both major parties now recognize that the existing Social Security system is unsustainable and must be reformed. The following are five principles that should govern our thinking about reform.

Jun 30, 1999

BA #298 – Dispelling The Myth Of A Cost-Free Global Warming Treaty

The Clinton/Gore administration negotiated a treaty in December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, that would require the United States and most other industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to slow global warming. The U.S. committed to reducing its annual greenhouse gas emissions, mostly carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from fossil fuel use, by about 40 percent - to 7 percent below its 1990 level - between 2008 and 2012.

Jun 07, 1999

BA #293 – The Language of Social Security Reform

Introduction The debate over Social Security reform has evolved significantly over the past few years - and especially the past few months. Almost everyone agrees that Social Security is in financial trouble. Both Republicans and Democrats have been looking for solutions and evaluating reform options, leading to a whole new vocabulary of reform.