Reports by Jason Furman
Results per page: 50 | 100
Results by year: 2007 | 2006
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A Tough Recovery By Any Measure: New Data Show Consumer Expenditures Lag for Low- and Middle-Income Families
November 28, 2006
Data on wages, compensation and income paint a disappointing picture of the current economic expansion, especially from the perspective of low- and middle income families. By most measures, real incomes were lower in 2005 than in the recession year of 2001, and real wages, after rising through mid-2003, fell consistently until very recently. These unfortunate trends have occurred amid … -
Treasury Dynamic Scoring Analysis Refutes Claims by Supporters of the Tax Cuts
Revised August 24, 2006
On July 25, the Treasury Department released a study entitled “A Dynamic Analysis of Permanent Extension of the President’s Tax Relief.” This study refutes many of the exaggerated claims about the tax cuts that have been made by the President and other senior Administration officials, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, and various other tax-cut advocates. … -
A Short Guide to Dynamic Scoring
Revised August 24, 2006
In recent years, official scorekeepers and academic researchers have devoted increased attention to the macroeconomic effects of tax cuts. The Treasury also conducted a “dynamic analysis” of the President’s tax cuts that was included in this year’s Mid-Session Review of the budget as well as in a separate Treasury report.[1] … -
Do Revenue Surprises Tell Us Much about The Cost of Tax Cuts?
July 18, 2006
The best answer to the question posed by the title of this paper is probably “no,” revenue surprises do not tell us much about the cost of tax cuts. The reason is that revenues are extremely volatile and move up and down in response to a variety of factors that have nothing to do with tax policy. Indeed, the impacts on revenue levels … -
Social Security and Inheritance
May 3, 2006
Executive Summary: Inheritance is one of the least understood issues in the Social Security debate. Supporters of private accounts often cite the ability to pass an account on to one’s heirs as an especially attractive feature of private accounts, one that the traditional Social Security system cannot match. For … -
Will The Administration Claim the Cost of Fixing Social Security Rose $700 Billion Because Congress Did Not Act Last Year?
Revised May 1, 2006
President Bush and other Administration officials often claim that delaying action on Social Security by “...just one year adds $600 billion [or $700 billion] to the cost of fixing Social Security.”[1] Such claims may be repeated on May 1 when the Social Security Trustees release their annual report on the program’s finances. Such claims, however, are not accurate. The figures used in … -
What the 2006 Trustees' Report Shows about Social Security
May 1, 2006
On May 1, the Social Security Board of Trustees released the 66th annual report on the program’s financial and actuarial status. The report projects that Social Security’s trust fund reserves will be exhausted in 2040, one year earlier than last year’s projection. After that year, Social Security will be able to pay 74 percent of scheduled benefits, rather than full benefits. … -
Reforming Social Security Sooner Rather Than Later
April 28, 2006
A common refrain is that it is better to act sooner rather than later on Social Security reform. President Bush, for example, argues “Putting off real reform makes fixing the system harder and more expensive.”[1] As a general principle, the common refrain is right. Acting sooner rather than later allows … -
Closing the Tax Gap
April 10, 2006
The Internal Revenue Service recently released updated estimates showing that the tax gap – which it describes as “the difference between what taxpayers should have paid and what they actually paid on a timely basis” — was $345 billion in Tax Year 2001. (This does not include unpaid taxes on illegal activities.)[1] This represents a non-compliance rate of 16.3 … -
Tax Reform and Poverty
April 10, 2006
The tax system has a pervasive impact on poverty, both directly through its role in the distribution of society’s resources and indirectly through its effects on the incentives for economic decisions like working and saving. The two most important facets of the tax system for low-income families are payroll taxes and the Earned Income Tax Credit … -
President Greatly Reduced His Health Proposals For Lower-Income Families While Expanding Health Benefits For The More Affluent
February 8, 2006
President Bush’s budget includes $156 billion in tax cuts over the next ten years (2007-16) to promote Health Savings Accounts and associated high-deductible insurance policies, with the large majority of this money going to more affluent households. This is slightly larger than the $133 billion in tax cuts for health care that the President … -
Expansion in HSA Tax Breaks is Larger – and More Problematic – Than Previously Understood
Revised February 7, 2006
In conjunction with the State of the Union Address, the President proposed an expansion of tax breaks both for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and for premiums for the high-deductible insurance policies that are purchased in conjunction with HSAs. The President is proposing a large increase in the amount that can be contributed to a HSA on a … -
President's Health Care Tax Cut Proposals Are Likely To Weaken Employer-Based Health Insurance, Primarily Benefit High-Income People, and Worsen Deficits
January 31, 2006
In tonight’s State of the Union address and as part of the upcoming fiscal year 2007 budget, President Bush is expected to propose major new tax cuts related to health care.[1] Chief among them could be major expansions of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and a new income tax deduction for out-of-pocket medical costs. These … -
Press Release: Social Security Is a Good Deal for African Americans, Report Finds: Privatization Carries Special Risks for African Americans
January 18, 2006
African Americans receive modestly more in Social Security benefits for each dollar they pay in payroll taxes than whites do, explains a new report from the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The report is based on a wide range of studies conducted by government … -
Social Security Is a Good Deal for African Americans, Report Finds: Privatization Carries Special Risks for African Americans
January 18, 2006
Social Security is a critical program for African Americans. Nearly five million African Americans receive Social Security benefits; roughly half of them are retired workers, and the other half are either disabled workers or the spouses or children of disabled, retired, or deceased workers. African Americans benefit disproportionately from several features of the … -
African Americans and Social Security: The Implications of Reform Proposals
January 18, 2006
Social Security is a critical program for African Americans. Some 4.8 million African Americans currently receive Social Security benefits, and African Americans benefit disproportionately from many of Social Security’s features, including a progressive benefit structure and survivors and disability benefits. Proposals …
