FISCAL BLOG

Skyrocketing student debt has generated significant discussion about ways to improve the financing of higher education in the United States.

Driven by rising interest rates and the accumulation of federal debt, interest will nearly triple in the next 10 years and reach a historic high relative to the size of the economy by 2032.

While this year’s deficit looks much better primarily due to the expiration of pandemic relief programs, CBO projects that the deficit will soon begin to climb again.

The likelihood of a return to higher interest rates is “both reasonably likely at some point and potentially calamitous for the federal government and broader economy.”

Did you know that the federal government is the direct lender for nearly all student loans in the U.S., lending trillions of dollars to millions of borrowers to help increase access to higher education?

President Biden, speaking from the White House today, highlighted deficit reduction as a key way to relieve inflationary pressure and put our nation on a more sustainable economic path.

While nearly all Americans pay taxes, the composition of the type of taxes paid is very different for taxpayers at various points in the income distribution.

Some lawmakers favor substantial increases to marginal tax rates. Let’s look at how marginal tax rates and brackets work.

In the coming years, it will be important for policymakers to look for ways to ensure that life-saving and life-improving medications are affordable and available for Americans, and at the same time, ease pressure on our unsustainable fiscal outlook.

The benefits from tax breaks do not flow equally to households of different income levels.