Daily Policy Digest
Tax and Spending Issues
| America's Roads Aren't Crumbling Urban interstates with "poor" pavement dropped from 6.6 percent to 5.4 percent between 1989 and 2008... |
| The Case for Across-the-Board Spending Cuts Virtually every government program, from defense to Social Security, has grown by an average of 35 percent between 2008 and 2013... |
| Why Differentiating between Taxes and Fees Is Important By labeling taxes as different things, such as a fee or surcharge, policymakers are avoiding legal protections for taxpayers that have been in place for many years... |
| Debt on the Rise for Seniors Between 2000 and 2011, the median amount of household debt for Americans older than age 65 more than doubled from $12,702 to about $26,000... |
| Welfare Block Grants as a Guide for Medicaid Reform Because block grants create a better incentive for states to spend tax dollars more efficiently, they can be extended to Medicaid... |
| States Debate Fate of Reserve Cash States are projected to increase their cash reserves by $3.4 billion to $41.4 billion, which would be equivalent to roughly 9 percent of state revenue... |
| Soaring Social Security Disability Rolls Headed for Collapse In 2009, Social Security's Disability Insurance began paying out more in benefits than it took in from payroll taxes; by 2016, it is set to run out of money... |
| Comparing the Ryan and Murray Budget Plans Tax reductions under Rep. Paul Ryan's budget would raise gross domestic product and labor income by 6 percent, which equals roughly 8 million additional full time jobs... |
| A Better Strategy for Faster Growth Appropriations legislation should focus on the coming fiscal year and the next, not on 10-year multitrillion-dollar totals that the current Congress can't control and the public can't understand... |
| 50 States, 50 Different Tax Regimes As a percentage of state income, New York has the highest tax burden at 12.8 percent, followed by New Jersey at 12.4 percent and Connecticut at 12.3 percent... |
