Skip to content
Peter G. Peterson Foundation logo
  • The Fiscal Challenge
    • Our National Debt
    • Understanding The Federal Budget
  • Issues
    • See all issues ›
    • Fiscal Outlook
    • Healthcare
    • Social Programs
    • The U.S. Budget
    • Defense Spending
    • Policy Proposals
    • Individual Taxes
    • Corporate Taxes
    • Economic Outlook
    • Democracy
  • Programs & Projects
    • See all programs ›
    • Advancing Fiscal Policy
    • Engaging Young Americans
    • Strengthening Our Democracy
    • Convening Experts
  • Resources
  • Press
  • Grants
  • About
    • About the Peterson Foundation
    • Our Founder
    • Careers
Subscribe

SIGN UP FOR OUR
NEWSLETTER

Register with us to become part of an important movement to develop long-term, nonpartisan fiscal solutions for a healthy growing economy. By signing up, you’ll receive our email newsletter with relevant and timely information on economic and fiscal policy.

Consent

Our Sites

National Debt Clock

Peterson Center on Healthcare

Peterson Health Technology Institute

Peterson Philanthropies

Peterson Solutions Fund

Up to Us

Twitter - Peterson Foundation Facebook - Peterson Foundation Youtube - Peterson Foundation Linkedin - Peterson Foundation
  • Press
  • Grants
  • About
    • About the Peterson Foundation
    • Our Founder
    • Careers
Subscribe

SIGN UP FOR OUR
NEWSLETTER

Register with us to become part of an important movement to develop long-term, nonpartisan fiscal solutions for a healthy growing economy. By signing up, you’ll receive our email newsletter with relevant and timely information on economic and fiscal policy.

Consent

Our Sites

National Debt Clock

Peterson Center on Healthcare

Peterson Health Technology Institute

Peterson Philanthropies

Peterson Solutions Fund

Up to Us

Twitter - Peterson Foundation Facebook - Peterson Foundation Youtube - Peterson Foundation Linkedin - Peterson Foundation
Subscribe

SIGN UP FOR OUR
NEWSLETTER

Register with us to become part of an important movement to develop long-term, nonpartisan fiscal solutions for a healthy growing economy. By signing up, you’ll receive our email newsletter with relevant and timely information on economic and fiscal policy.

Consent

  • The Fiscal Challenge
    • Our National Debt

      Understand the U.S. national debt, why it matters, and what we can do.

      Understanding the Federal Budget

      Learn about the budget, how it’s created, and how we can fix our budgeting process.

      $38T

      National Debt

      $602B

      FY26 Deficit

  • Issues
      • Fiscal Outlook

      • The U.S. Budget

      • Policy Proposals

      • Individual Taxes

      • Corporate Taxes

      • Democracy

      • Healthcare

      • Social Programs

      • Defense Spending

      • Economic Outlook

      • See all Issues

  • Programs and Projects
      • Advancing Fiscal Solutions

      • Engaging Young Americans

      • Strengthening Our Democracy

      • Convening Experts

      • See all Programs

  • Resources

What Are Estate and Gift Taxes and How Do They Work?

By briteweb | January 14, 2026
Image of a mansion in Chicago, IL.

Estate and gift taxes produce relatively lower revenue compared to other sources, but they generate a significant amount of attention, and even controversy.

Read More

Budget Basics: How Does Social Security Work?

By briteweb | January 14, 2026
Social Security Card

Social Security is the largest single program in the federal budget and typically makes up one-fifth of total federal spending.

Read More

10 of the Largest Tax Breaks Explained

By briteweb | January 14, 2026
IRS Building in Washington

Tax breaks totaled over $2.0 trillion in 2025. That’s more than the government spends on Social Security, defense, or Medicare and Medicaid.

Read More

8 Key Charts on Tax Breaks

By briteweb | January 14, 2026

The cost of tax breaks was greater than the size of the deficit in 2025.

Read More

Budget Basics: What Is the Child Tax Credit?

By briteweb | December 23, 2025
Baby Sign Language Class

The CTC provides assistance to families with children, and while it represents a relatively modest part of overall government spending, it is one of the largest tax expenditures.

Read More

Budget Basics: Tax Expenditures

By briteweb | December 22, 2025
tax forms

Tax expenditures can come in the form of exclusions, exemptions, deductions, and credits.

Read More

Budget Basics: Unemployment Insurance Explained

By briteweb | December 16, 2025
Image of people speaking with recruiters at a job fair.

The Unemployment Insurance program is a key counter-cyclical tool to help stabilize the economy and speed recovery during downturns or crises.

Read More

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Healthcare in the United States?

By briteweb | December 11, 2025

The United States has one of the largest and most complex healthcare systems in the world. Take our healthcare quiz to see how much you know about the cost and quality of the U.S. healthcare system.

Read More

How Did the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Change Tax Policy?

By jcurry | December 10, 2025
OBBBA signing

See how OBBBA restructured the tax landscape across four major areas: individual tax provisions, business tax provisions, energy tax credits, and health-related tax changes.

Read More

How Did the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Affect Federal Spending?

By jcurry | December 10, 2025
OBBBA signing

Overall, the OBBBA adds significantly to the nation’s debt, but the act contains net spending cuts that lessen that impact.

Read More
Older Posts »

Recent Posts

    Recent Comments

    No comments to show.

    Get Involved

    Register with us to become part of an important movement to develop long-term fiscal solutions for a healthy growing economy. By signing up, you’ll receive our email newsletter with relevant and timely information on economic and fiscal policy.

    Take action

    Learn what you can do.

    Explore

    Read and share insights on the issues we face.

    Peter G. Peterson Foundation logo
    Twitter - Peterson Foundation Facebook - Peterson Foundation Youtube - Peterson Foundation Linkedin - Peterson Foundation
    the foundation

    Home
    Issues
    Press

    about

    About
    Our Founder
    Careers

    Our Organizations
    PCH Logo
    Peterson Philanthropies
    Peterson Solutions Fund Logo
    Peterson-Health-Techonology-logo-color 1

    Copyright © 2025 Peter G. Peterson Foundation. 
All rights reserved.      Copyright Policy     |      Privacy Policy     |     Terms of Use     |     Permissions