FISCAL BLOG

With our economy in recovery, the national debt rising unsustainably, the country still grappling with a devastating pandemic, and lawmakers pursing significant new legislation, America faces many critical questions for its future. To shed light on the best way forward, two top economists participated in a panel discussion as part of the latest edition of the Peterson Foundation Economic Forum.

There were 531,000 jobs added in October. However, the unemployment rate remains high, especially for non-white workers.

The economy continued to grow in the third quarter of 2021, but at a slightly slower pace than previous quarters due to the delta variant of COVID-19.

The sharp rise in student debt has sparked debate among policymakers on whether, and how, to address it.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate are discussing a range of policies under what’s known as reconciliation. To their credit, they have pledged to offset the cost of the legislation, so that the bill won’t add to the country’s already unsustainable debt and deficits.

Several federal programs that are governed by trust funds are facing serious funding shortfalls. As a result, such trust funds, including the retirement portion of Social Security, Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, and the Highway Trust Fund, are projected to be exhausted in the near future.

Housing insecurity is an ongoing issue for millions of American families. COVID-19 and its economic impact exacerbated an existing shortage of affordable housing that far predated the pandemic.

The possibility of raising the corporate tax rate has spurred a debate among economists and policymakers about the optimal corporate income tax rate to balance revenue generation and U.S. competitiveness.

Democratic leaders this week for the first time revealed specific details for how they intend to pay for, or offset, the approximately $3.5 trillion of spending in their reconciliation bill.

A key part of the Biden administration’s policy agenda in 2021 relates to our nation’s energy policy, and in particular, there have been important debates among policymakers about how we use the tax code to incentivize economically and environmentally beneficial behavior.