Deep Dives

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…

Download the pdf: History and Future of the Social Security Trust Fund_ Part III Read Part I                  Read Part II Introduction Part III of this issue brief series examines how the Social…

Download the pdf: History and Future of the Social Security Trust Fund_ Part I Read Part II                  Read Part III Introduction Social Security is probably the most widely discussed but least understood government…

Downloadable pdf: Social Security's Debt Limit Escape Clause Introduction Last month, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress that the federal government had reached the current debt limit ($31.4 trillion).[1] As a result, the Treasury Department has undertaken traditional “extraordinary measures”…

Download the pdf: The Fiscal Gap_ Useful Metric or Misleading Indicator Introduction The persistent shortfall between taxes and spending results in a rising level of government debt. Preventing the debt from reaching an unsustainable level will require Congress to…

Download the pdf: Social Security: A New Solution to an Old Problem Introduction More than one-quarter of state and local government employees are exempt from Social Security because they participate in a pension plan that allegedly provides comparable retirement benefits.[1]…

Introduction The Constitution (Article I, section 9, clause 7) gives Congress the “power of the purse,” which means no money can be paid out of the Treasury unless it has been appropriated by an act of Congress. However, President Biden…

Download the pdf: Social-Security-Replacement-Rates_Nudging-in-the-Wrong-Direction.pdf Introduction Social Security reform is both necessary and urgent, yet Congress remains reluctant to act.[1] This political inertia is primarily the result of two factors. First, the combined Social Security trust funds (OASDI) are projected to remain…