Brookings: Projects - Budgeting for National Priorities

Should Increasing the Progressivity of Entitlement Benefits be Part of a 21st Century American Social Contract?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As the United States begins to recover from the deepest recession in decades, policymakers and the public are increasingly turning their attention to our long-term fiscal problems. To help alleviate the deficit, we need to fix the social contract. William Galston presents evidence which suggests that if done right, strengthening the link between income and net benefits would allow entitlement programs to meet essential social objectives without antagonizing upper-income beneficiaries and undermining cross-class coalitions.

Budgeting for National Priorities

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:40:55 GMT

The Budgeting for National Priorities project promotes greater fiscal responsibility by developing new ideas, educating the public and finding common ground among experts and policy-makers.

Bipartisan Budget Solution

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In light of the news that a group of ten senators has called for the creation of a bipartisan commission on the budget to create a long-term plan to reduce budget deficits, Isabel V. Sawhill cautions that failing to institute such a plan could lead to slower growth or an economic crisis, along with reduced flexibility to get the economy moving again or handle a new international threat.

Bend the Revenue Curve: Health Reform Alone Won't End Deficits

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Although health care reform is intended to bend the curve of spending and reduce the deficit, it alone will not be enough, say Henry Aaron and Isabel Sawhill. They propose that Congress enact a value-added tax, the equivalent of a broad-based sales tax on all goods and services. The revenue from the new tax, and other sources, should be linked directly to public health care spending through a newly created trust fund which would pay for all federal health care spending.

The Scouting Report Web Chat: The U.S. Budget Deficit

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The soaring U.S. budget deficit is projected to total more than $1 trillion for the fiscal year that ends September 30. Brookings guest scholar and former Member of Congress William Frenzel, along with Politico’s Fred Barbash, answered your questions about the danger of the increasing U.S. budget deficit and its link to health care reform and economic growth.

Step One: Addressing Health Care Costs

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Isabel Sawhill explains why addressing rising health care costs has to be the first step in solving the nation’s long term fiscal problems.

An Update on the Economic and Fiscal Crises: 2009 and Beyond

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

William Gale and Alan Auerbach review recent economic events and their impact on U.S. fiscal performance and prospects, highlighting the historic nature of the 2009 budget outcomes, the unsustainability of plausible ten-year budget projections, and the increasingly dire long-term fiscal problem.

The Budget, the Deficit, the Future

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

July 08, 2009, 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

The federal government responded aggressively to the economic crisis with fiscal, financial and monetary interventions. While boosting the economy has to be the top priority in the short run, it would be dangerous to lose focus on medium- and long-term fiscal issues that represent future threats to the economy and the solvency of the federal government. On July 8, Brookings experts and colleagues examined the delicate balancing act between economic recovery and fiscal sustainability.

Statutory PAYGO: An Important First Step Toward Fiscal Responsibility

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Testifying before the House Budget Committee, Alice Rivlin urged enforcement of the statutory pay-as-you-go budget rules to rein in the long-term deficit. She endorsed the recent actions taken to stimulate the economy and rescue the financial sector, but said the costly measures further obligate Congress and the administration to control deficits.

Stop Kicking the Fiscal Can Down the Road

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

While the government has been busy with bailouts, who is going to bail out the U.S. government when our creditors tire of lending to us? And now, thanks to the stimulus, virtually all those over age of 65 are receiving $250 checks, regardless of whether or not they need it. Isabel Sawhill says it’s time for Congress and the administration to get serious about getting our fiscal house in order.

The Potential Role of Entitlement or Budget Commissions in Addressing Long-term Budget Problems

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The United States faces a looming fiscal imbalance brought on by an aging population and rising health care costs. Yet, the current political environment discourages our leadership from making the tough choices required to fix our fiscal house. In this paper, a diverse group of budget experts reviews some of the recent history of appointed commissions, and discusses their potential role in long-term federal budgeting policy.

Will Big Government Change The Rules of Commerce?

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alice Rivlin joined bigthink.com to discuss how businesses can succeed in a new regulatory environment.

Making a Good Budget Better

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

President Barack Obama’s budget is the subject of floor debate in the House and Senate this week. Alice Rivlin says that the budget offers good remedies for America’s economic ills, but urges Congress to make it even better by paying for the new investments and reducing the long-term deficits.

Health Care Reform and President Obama's Budget

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:23:33 GMT

In this video, Alice Rivlin says that President Obama's budget calls for taxing the wealthy to help pay for aggressive reform of the nation’s health care system and that the plan also seeks to curtail wasteful Medicare and Medicaid spending while increasing services and efficiency in those programs.

Obama's Budget Battle

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In order to overcome trillion-dollar deficits, the president must get spending under control – and muster a lot of political will says Isabel Sawhill: First, by getting Health Care spending under control; second, by putting Social Security on a sound financial basis; and finally by raising revenues.

New Approaches to Addressing Long-Term Fiscal Responsibility

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A bipartisan group of budget experts from 7 different organizations view President Obama’s Fiscal Responsibility summit as a good first step to addressing the enormous long-term fiscal problem facing the United States, but urge him to lead a major public engagement effort – beyond a one-day summit – to inform Americans of the scale and nature of the long-term fiscal crisis, explain the consequences of inaction and discuss the options for solving the problem. The effort should include the creation of an independent and truly bipartisan commission or other mechanism capable of bringing about decisive action that has broad public support.

Fiscal Stimulus Roundtable

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

February 10, 2009, 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM

President Obama's summit on fiscal responsibility is an attempt to focus the nation on the need to rein in spending, tackle our growing deficits, and plan a sound financial future for the nation. A group of budget experts from Brookings, the Heritage Foundation and other public policy think tanks gathered February 10 to discuss options for fiscal responsibility, while acknowledging the need to provide short-term stimulus to a faltering economy.

@ Brookings Podcast: Fixing the U.S. Economy; Closing Guantánamo Bay

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:35:00 GMT

The first installment of the weekly @ Brookings video podcast reviews this week’s commentary, news and events. First, Brookings experts Isabel Sawhill and Douglas Elliott take on the stimulus package and the economy. A new feature, White House Watch, asks Benjamin Wittes to examine the move to close Guantánamo Bay. And we hear what the man on the street thinks about the controversial detention center.

Keep Politics Away from the Promise of Family Planning

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Just before the House approved its version of the stimulus bill, it was stripped of a controversial provision that would have given states the option to expand a Medicaid-funded program subsidizing family planning services for low-income women. Adam Thomas and Isabel Sawhill agree that the family planning provision was rightly stripped from the package, but argue that it is an important program that has the potential to limit the number of unplanned pregnancies, reduce the incidence of abortion, improve child well-being and actually save money in the long-run.

A Budget We Can Believe In

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A diverse group of experts urged President Obama, in his first budget submission, to strike a judicious balance between America’s short-term and long-term economic needs. While the need to boost spending to stimulate the economy is important, they say these short-term steps must not make it harder to achieve our long-term goals. They note that fundamental reforms of major entitlement programs and the tax system are needed to bring spending and revenues into better balance over the longer-term.

Rebuild Economic Confidence by Reforming Entitlements

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

“Washington may bail out Wall Street. But who will bail out Washington?” The Fiscal Wake-Up Tour group, Robert Bixby, Stuart Butler and Isabel Sawhill, discusses the importance of fundamentally recasting Medicare versus solely focusing on immediate health care reform.

Paying for Investments in Children

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Advocates for children are hoping that with a new administration and a new Congress in 2009, investments in children will get enhanced priority. Isabel Sawhill argues that we need a new intergenerational contract that invests more in people when they are young, but then expects them to assume somewhat greater responsibility for their own support during their retirement years.

Addressing our Nation’s Fiscal Future

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

June 18, 2008, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM

On June 18, the Brookings Institution hosted Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) and Representative Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) to discuss different approaches to correct the unsustainable path of our current fiscal policies.

Revising the Intergenerational Contract

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Isabel Sawhill and Emily Monea argue that it's time to tear up the intergenerational contract as we know it and construct public policy around the one group of people for whom social investments really pay off: kids.

Presidential Candidates Should Address Looming Budget Deficits

Mon, 26 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

With Congress poised to approve a budget blueprint that offers no relief for long-term deficit woes, Isabel Sawhill says that it’s time for presidential candidates to discuss ways to reshape the nation’s fiscal priorities and return to a more responsible path. Right now, she writes, little is being done to prevent a disaster.

Budget Chaos: What, Me Worry?

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As the baby boomers begin to retire this year, the burden of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will grow relentlessly. With more people in the programs and more expensive benefits, the nation will quickly encounter a budget disaster. Bill Frenzel and Ron Haskins say that dramatic reforms are needed to avoid budget chaos for future generations.

Taking Back our Fiscal Future

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Unsustainable deficits in the federal budget threaten the health and vigor of the American economy. When the next president and Congress take office in January 2009, they will face one crucial question that has been almost absent from the current election campaign: how to close the enormous gap between projected federal spending and revenues.

How To Take Back Our Fiscal Future

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:30:00 GMT

Event Information:

March 31, 2008, 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM

Some of the nation’s top economists and budget policy experts presented a new paper arguing that the first step toward establishing budget responsibility is to reform the budget decision process so that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid—the major drivers of escalating deficits—are no longer on auto-pilot.

The Costs of Benefit Delivery in the Food Stamp Program

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This study by Brookings expert Julia Isaacs compares the Food Stamp Program with eight other public assistance programs across four measures of program effectiveness—administrative costs, error payments, program access, and benefit targeting.

Beyond the Stimulus Package

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Isabel Sawhill argues that the fiscal stimulus package is a good idea, but is merely a stopgap that will do little to change the fundamental problems. She says that Congress should not lose sight of how the economy got to where it is and what is needed to prevent such vulnerabilities in the future.

Taming the Budget

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Isabel V. Sawhill suggests steps that would give a new President time to educate the public and build a constituency for more fundamental changes.

The Intergenerational Balancing Act: Where Children Fit in an Aging Society

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

In the first annual Kristin Anderson Moore lecture for Child Trends, Isabel Sawhill discusses how future generations will have to deal with the challenges of globalization and low savings rates, and emphasizes the need for higher education and fiscal responsibility.

Concerns with Health Care Reform

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

In testimony to the Senate Budget Committee, Henry Aaron reviews options for health care reform.

A Health-Care Test for All

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Joseph Antos and Alice M. Rivlin (03/28/07)

Restoring Fiscal Sanity 2007: The Health Spending Challenge

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 10:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

March 15, 2007, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Q&A on Restoring Fiscal Sanity 2007

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Alice M. Rivlin Interview on Restoring Fiscal Sanity 2007 (3/12/07)

Restoring Fiscal Sanity 2007: The Health Spending Challenge

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Book edited by Alice M. Rivlin and Joseph Antos (March 2007)

The Earned Income Tax Credit

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Testimony by Ron Haskins (2/22/07)

Why Deficits and Debt Render the United States Vulnerable

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Isabel V. Sawhill and Alice M. Rivlin (02/21/07)

Taming the Deficit, Together

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Bill Frenzel, Charles Stenholm, William Hoagland and Isabel Sawhill (2/12/07)

Taming the Deficit: A Bipartisan Plan to Balance the Budget

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 09:30:00 GMT

Event Information:

February 07, 2007, 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM

A distinguished panel of experts offered their bipartisan plan of spending cuts and revenue enhancements to balance the budget in the next five years, and set the nation on a sustainable fiscal course for the long run. Participants included G. William Hoagland, former director of budget and appropriations for former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.); Charles Stenholm, former Member of Congress from Texas; and Isabel Sawhill, a Brookings senior fellow.

Plain Talk About Health Care

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

There is a dramatic disconnect between the design and intent of the U.S. government's health care programs when compared to the real needs of the population and in light of the realities of high-powered, very expensive modern medicine. Tinkering with our current approach simply will not solve our problems. We need a fundamental redesign.

Cost-Effective Investments in Children

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

How can we balance the budget in the next five years? In a series of papers on budget choices, Brookings analysts examine options for reducing domestic discretionary spending, pruning the defense budget, raising revenues, and investing additional resources in children. An overall deficit reduction plan uses the ideas developed in this series to balance the budget in the next five years. All five papers in this series, and more information about the Budgeting for National Priorities project, can be found at www.brookings.edu/budget.

Restraining Federal Domestic Spending

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Spending restraint has never been more important as a policy objective. Several critical national priorities (the Global War on Terror, emergency preparedness) must be addressed simultaneously and will require substantial resources, even as the country is on the brink of unprecedented and expensive population aging. Curbing the near-term federal budget deficit is an imperative. This paper recommends appropriations cuts to and reforms of a number of government programs (including Amtrak, economic development programs, education funding, and Medicaid administrative funding), along with the adoption of certain new policies that would help reduce government spending. Taken together, these proposals save $275 billion over the five years from 2008 to 2012—more than half the savings needed to balance the budget at the end of this period.

Reducing the Deficit Through Better Tax Policy

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Pruning the Defense Budget

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Taming the Deficit

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Returning to Bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Diane Lim Rogers in washingtonpost.com's Think Tank Town (12/5/2006)

Time for a Budget Summit

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Bill Frenzel in the San Francisco Chronicle (11/5/2006)

Work over Welfare : The Inside Story of the 1996 Welfare Reform Law

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Ron Haskins tells the inside story of the legislation that ended "welfare as we know it."

'Death Tax' Repeal Unfair to Those Who Owe 'Birth Tax'

Wed, 31 May 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Diane Lim Rogers, San Francisco Chronicle (5/31/06)

Does it Take a Commission? Health Care and the Federal Budget

Mon, 15 May 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Speech by Isabel V. Sawhill, National Press Club (5/15/06)

Thank you. I first want to say I agree very much with everything that has been said so far. At Brookings we have produced two books on the fiscal situation facing the country — one in 2004, one in 2005. In both of those books, we laid out solutions that included both spending cuts and revenue increases and we got quite specific about both. There are many ways to bring back some balance between revenues and spending, and the ways we suggested are not the only ways. If elected officials do not like our ways then they should suggest some others. But I want to emphasize everything that has been said up to now about the need to get serious about this.

Ignoring Debt Makes it Get Worse

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Isabel V. Sawhill, The Philadelphia Inquirer (4/30/06)

Debt is Cheating Our Children's Future

Sun, 23 Apr 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Isabel V. Sawhill, Kansas City Star (4/23/06)

Good Reasons for Taxes

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Diane Lim Rogers, The Boston Globe (4/16/06)

Rising Debt Is Very Scary

Sun, 02 Apr 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Diane Lim Rogers and Andrew L. Yarrow, The Baltimore Sun (4/2/06)

Building Automatic Solvency into U.S. Social Security: Insights from Sweden and Germany

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT

In 1998, Sweden adopted a radical new approach to state-based pension provision, with several innovations. Many experts in the United States and elsewhere have been interested in Sweden's move toward mandatory individual accounts for retirement savings, with workers required to set-aside 2.5 percent of covered wages. For purposes of this brief, however, Sweden's novel approach to financing the much larger pay-as-you-go state pensions is of interest. The new Swedish pension system contains features that should achieve what the architects of the new system sought—guaranteed and permanent financial solvency at a fixed contribution rate of 16 percent of wages.

Domestic Entitlements and the Federal Budget

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Testimony by Isabel V. Sawhill, House Committee on the Budget (2/15/06)

New Estimates of the Budget Outlook: Plus Ca Change, Plus C'est la Meme Chose

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Despite substantial attention given to fiscal policy concerns in recent years, the federal government's fiscal status has continued to deteriorate, with the enactment of tax cuts, a massive new Medicare entitlement, increased spending on defense and homeland security, and related economic developments. This paper provides new estimates of the nation's fiscal status over both the 10-year and long-term horizon, based on the most recent (January 2006) CBO official budget figures (2006).

The President's Budget and the Long-Term Fiscal Outlook

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 09:30:00 GMT

Event Information:

February 10, 2006, 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM

The day after President Bush released his fiscal 2007 budget, Brookings hosted two panels of experts and policy-makers who addressed key policy issues: Is this budget fiscally responsible? How can we assess the President's priorities? What are the budget's chances for passage, and what is likely to be modified by Congress?

Chump-Change Budget Cuts

Sat, 12 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Isabel V. Sawhill and Andrew L. Yarrow, Los Angeles Times (11/12/05)

The Future America Can't Afford: A Media Seminar on the Budget Crisis

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 09:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

October 31, 2005 at 9:00 AM

The Danger of Deficits

Tue, 16 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Isabel V. Sawhill, USA Today (8/16/05)

The Decline in Household Saving: What Can We Learn From Survey Data?

Thu, 11 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT

In a global economy characterized by some as being awash in saving, Americans stand out for their devotion to consumption. The rate of private saving in the United States has declined precipitously over the past two decades. While the corporate component has surged during the current economic expansion, the household saving rate has continued to fall. Household saving has fallen from ten percent of disposable income in the first half of the 1980s to less than two percent in the first half of the current decade. This development should strike us as all the more surprising given the large number of baby-boomers who are in their peak saving years. Despite considerable empirical research, the source of the saving decline remains controversial; primarily because it's one-time nature makes the question of the causes difficult to resolve on the basis of macroeconomic correlations.

Articulating a Policy Framework for Long-Term Federal Entitlement Reform

Fri, 01 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT

President Bush's top first-term objectives — in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks — were waging and winning the global war on terror, significantly enhancing our homeland security systems, and strengthening economic growth. With sluggish economic growth following the 2001 recession persisting in 2002 and 2003 — due, in part, to the revelation of several corporate governance scandals and the aftermath of technology stock "bubble burst" – the President placed a high premium on tax relief proposals aimed at accelerating the pace of short and long-term economic growth. In this context, it is not at all surprising that large federal budget deficits emerged.

Restoring Fiscal Sanity: Meeting the Long-Run Challenge

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 09:30:00 GMT

Event Information:

April 14, 2005, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Event Summary: Restoring Fiscal Sanity 2005: Meeting the Long-Run Challenge

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Event Summary on Restoring Fiscal Sanity (4/14/05)

Restoring Fiscal Sanity 2005: Meeting the Long-Run Challenge

Wed, 13 Apr 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Book edited by Alice M. Rivlin and Isabel V. Sawhill (4/13/05)

Restoring Fiscal Responsibility: Challenges for the New Congress

Wed, 12 Jan 2005 08:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

January 12, 2005 at 8:00 AM

Event Summary: Restoring Fiscal Sanity - While We Still Can

Tue, 18 May 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Event summary of the briefing on exploring and debating a number of possible options to help address these fiscal challenges before it is too late. (5/18/04)

Restoring Fiscal Sanity - While We Still Can

Tue, 18 May 2004 08:45:00 GMT

Event Information:

May 18, 2004, 8:45 AM to 11:30 AM

Restoring Budget Sanity

Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

April 27, 2004, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Event Summary: Restoring Budget Sanity

Tue, 27 Apr 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Event Summary on restoring fiscal sanity. (4/27/04)

How to Balance the Budget

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Policy Brief #130 by Alice M. Rivlin and Isabel V. Sawhill. (March 2004)

U.S. on Road to Bad Economic Health

Mon, 23 Feb 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Lael Brainard, Michael E. O'Hanlon and Isabel V. Sawhill, The Albany Times-Union (2/23/04)

Key Points on the Alternative Minimum Tax

Wed, 21 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Leonard E. Burman, William G. Gale, Jeffrey Rohaly, and Matthew Hall, Tax Policy Center (1/21/04)

Key Points on Making the Bush Tax Cuts Permanent

Wed, 21 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

William Gale and co-authors examine the effects of making President Bush's tax cuts permanent.

Restoring Fiscal Sanity: How to Balance the Budget

Tue, 13 Jan 2004 15:30:00 GMT

Event Information:

January 13, 2004, 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM

Restoring Fiscal Sanity: How to Balance the Budget

Tue, 13 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Book edited by Alice M. Rivlin and Isabel V. Sawhill (1/13/03)

Event Summary: Restoring Fiscal Sanity: How to Balance the Budget

Tue, 13 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Event summary of the Restoring Fiscal Sanity: How to Balance the Budget briefing at Brookings.