This week I had the privilege of traveling to Carrollton, Georgia, to visit the University of West Georgia and facilitate Principles and Priorities, The Concord Coalition’s interactive federal budget exercise, with students from Professor Mary Kassis’s public finance class. Over…
This past week, undergraduate students from across the country gathered to present in-depth budget proposals to improve the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook– and they did not disappoint. Held against the backdrop of rising national debt and ongoing congressional debates over…
Concord Coalition Executive Director Carolyn Bourdeaux, Senior Advisor Bob Bixby, and former Chief Economist Steven Robinson joined a recent statement with budget experts from across partisan divides who agree on one thing: how the costs and savings of legislation are…
This week the Senate Budget Committee released a plan that would add nearly $6 trillion to the national debt and simply ignore the roughly $4 trillion cost of extending several expiring tax cuts because they are “current policy,” while tacking…
In my role as National Field Director for The Concord Coalition, I’ve had the privilege of traveling to all 50 states and visiting countless college campuses across the country to facilitate our signature federal budget exercise, Principles and Priorities. From…
Key Points Social Security trust funds are projected to become insolvent in 2035. Unless Congress acts, this will trigger benefit cuts of roughly 17 percent. President Trump and Elon Musk have repeatedly claimed that improper benefit payments to dead people…
September 4, 2024 Download PDF In 1994, President Clinton appointed us to co-chair the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform. We were hopeful that Congress and the President would come together on a plan to put the budget on…
Introduction According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the federal government will continue to face a large and growing shortfall between taxes and spending, resulting in a rising level of federal debt held by the public.[1] This debt will crowd…
Introduction According to public opinion polls, most Americans believe the rich do not pay their fair share of taxes.[1] While these polls do not reveal what the public believes a fair share would be, many pundits and politicians suggest history…
On March 11, President Biden transmitted to Congress his proposed budget for FY 2025. Although a Republican-controlled House means the Biden budget has little chance of enactment without significant modification, it represents an important starting point for negotiations and is…
Introduction According to public opinion polls, the most popular way to “fix” Social Security is by taxing the rich, specifically by increasing or eliminating the limit on wages subject to the Social Security payroll tax.[1] Despite the populist appeal of…
Download the pdf: Taxing-Social-Security-Benefits.pdf Introduction Prior to 1984, Social Security benefits were exempt from federal income taxes. Based on the recommendation of the 1983 Greenspan Commission, Congress enacted legislation to require Social Security beneficiaries with income above certain thresholds to pay…