Publications -- Federal Spending

Economic Stimulus - The Right Way

Rather than a one- or two-year stimulus package, we should be looking for permanent
fiscal changes that turn the economy around in a lasting way.

Stimulus or Pork?

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that only 7% of the stimulus spending in the House-passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (approx. $358 billion of the total) will be spent this year. By the end of 2010, only 38% will be spent. And by the end of 2011 only 67% will be spent. Including both tax cuts and stimulus checks, only one fifth of the total package will be spent in 2009.

ST #316 – Optimal Taxation, Economic Growth and Income Inequality in the United State

Up to a point, government spending on public goods - such as national defense and protection of property - can raise the economic growth rate. However, as government spending rises, the tendency is to increase spending on nonproductive income transfers - such as subsidy and welfare programs. Research indicates that the high levels of taxation required to pay for such income transfers inhibit economic growth, whereas lower taxes can raise the rate of economic growth.

BA #622 – Green Schools Don’t Make the Grade

Congress is considering funding a range of projects designed to reduce carbon emissions, including the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, which would provide $20 billion to build public schools that meet “green” environmental standards.  House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.) says the legislation will not only save energy, but also make the facilities safer and cleaner and dramatically reduce costs.  Advocates claim that such schools will use 35 percent less energy.

BA #616 – Social Security and Medicare Projections: 2008

The 2008 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports show the combined unfunded liability of these two programs has reached $101.7 trillion in today's dollars! That is more than seven times the size of the U.S. economy and 10 times the size of the outstanding national debt.

BA #611 – How the Fed Creates Money

Signs of an economic slowdown, or recession, have prompted the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.  The Fed reduces interest rates by increasing the supply of money available to borrow.  This additional money is distributed to banks and loaned to consumers.  Assuming a constant demand for money, an increase in the quantity of money will cause interest rates to drop.  But how does the Fed increase the money supply?

ST #306 – A Medicare Reform Proposal Everyone Can Love: Finding Common Ground among Medicare Reformers

Medicare reform will soon be front and center in the public policy arena.  The reason:  Projections in the past two years for Medicare's deteriorating finances have triggered a legal requirement for the President to propose reform legislation within 15 days of the release of the next federal budget.  Congress must consider the president's proposal on an expedited basis.

BA #603 – Increasing America’s Domestic Fuel Supply by Building New Oil Refineries

Rising oil and gasoline prices have many causes that are beyond the control of the U.S. government.  However, government policies have contributed to higher prices by reducing domestic refining capacity, which has limited the supply of gasoline.  No new oil refineries have been built in the United States for almost 30 years, and many refineries have closed.

BA #595 – Crisis of the Uninsured: 2007

Despite claims that there is a health insurance crisis in the United States, the proportion of Americans without health coverage has changed little in the past decade. The increase in the number of uninsured is largely due to immigration and population growth — and to individual choice.

BA #594 – Chile's Answer to Rising U.S. Disability Costs

Americans are living longer and are healthier than previous generations, yet the number of workers receiving disability benefits is increasing. In fact, disability is the fastest-rising component of Social Security — growing at nearly twice the rate of spending on retirement benefits.