Stimulus Proposals
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Case For a Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment in 2010 Is Weak
Updated October 15, 2009
Under current law, there will be no cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in Social Security in 2010 — the first time that has happened since automatic cost-of-living adjustments began in 1975. Several bills before Congress would grant a special increase in Social Security payments for 2010. The inflation … -
Huffington Post Op-ed: Should Progressives Shun the Economic Recovery Package?
February 20, 2009
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Recovery Agreement Temporarily Expands Child Tax Credit for Large Numbers of Children in Every State
February 12, 2009
The economic recovery plan that a congressional conference committee has approved will expand the Child Tax Credit for 13 million children in low-income working families. Under the agreement, the child credit will reach 2.9 million new children and will provide another 10 million children with a larger credit than they would have received … -
Statement: Robert Greenstein on the Conference Agreement on the Recovery Package
February 12, 2009
The economic recovery agreement is a major achievement that should provide timely and substantial stimulus to the deteriorating economy. The agreement improves significantly on the Senate bill, paring back several costly Senate-passed tax cuts that would have provided little “bang for the buck” in terms of economic stimulus, while … -
Testimony: Sharon Parrott at the Hearing "Building a Foundation for Families: Fighting Hunger, Investing in Children" before the House Budget Committee
February 12, 2009
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about the current recession, its impacts on poverty and families, and the recovery package. The current recession already has pushed up the unemployment rate from 4.9 percent in December 2007 to 7.6 percent in January 2008. Alternative measures of the labor market paint a bleaker picture.… -
Podcast: Key Differences in the House and Senate Stimulus Plans
February 10, 2009
This podcast featuring Robert Greenstein and Len Burman (Co-director, Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center and Senior Fellow, Urban Institute) discusses the key differences between the House and Senate economic recovery packages in both the tax and spending areas and address how Congress should resolve them.
Duration: 25:23
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Attacks on Congressional Recovery Package Don't Withstand Scrutiny
February 5, 2009
The public debate over the economic recovery package working its way through Congress[1] has become more muddled and incoherent than the critics’ caricature of the package itself. New York Times columnist David Brooks, for example, describes the package as a “sprawling, undisciplined smorgasbord.”[2] Those words may be more appropriately applied to the case … -
Podcast: Reality Check on the Stimulus Debate
February 5, 2009
This podcast featuring Robert Greenstein discusses whether stimulus proposals being offered in the Senate this week would make the overall recovery package more or less effective in boosting the economy. He also addresses a number of misconceptions circulating around the House and Senate recovery packages.
Duration: 16:50
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Proponents of Estate Tax Repeal Resurrecting Old Misconceptions
February 2, 2009
With Congress expected to debate permanent changes in the estate tax in coming months, some proponents of repealing the tax or weakening it beyond its current form are resurrecting old misconceptions about the tax. For example, a recent Wall Street Journal editorial claimed that repealing the estate tax would increase national saving and that U.S. estate taxes are high … -
Criticisms of House Recovery Package Are Misplaced
January 16, 2009
Contrary to criticisms by some, the House economic recovery package unveiled yesterday is well designed to boost employment and the economy. It contains a number of spending measures crafted to inject more aggregate demand into the sagging economy over the next two years. It also contains tax measures that, while generally less effective as stimulus … -
Video: Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on Economic Stimulus, Fox 5 News DC
October 13, 2008
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Statement on Senate-Passed Financial Rescue Legislation by Robert Greenstein and Chad Stone
October 2, 2008
The House should quickly approve the financial rescue plan that the Senate approved in strong bipartisan fashion yesterday. Further delay would leave the U.S. economy increasingly vulnerable to a contraction more severe than any since the 1930s — one that could trigger large increases … -
Bonus Depreciation Tax Cut Unlikely To Provide Effective Economic Stimulus
September 10, 2008
Stimulus legislation enacted in February included a provision that increased the tax deduction which businesses can claim when they purchase certain types of equipment and place it in service during the 2008 tax year. Suggestions are being made that this “bonus depreciation” provision — a form of accelerated … -
House-Passed Housing Tax Package Improves Significantly on Senate Version: But Addressing the Foreclosure Crisis Will Require Other Measures
Revised June 17, 2008
On April 10, the Senate passed a bill comprised largely of housing-related tax cuts. [1] Six weeks later, the House passed its own housing legislation including its own package of housing-related tax measures. Some of the provisions in House-passed housing tax package have merit, and the House-passed tax package represents a … -
Senate Housing Legislation Highly Disappointing: Less Than One-Fourth of Cost of Senate Bill Goes for Provisions That Will Actually Help Address the Foreclosure Crisis
Revised May 12, 2008
On April 10, the Senate passed legislation that its supporters say will help struggling families hold on to their homes and assist the communities hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis. Measures that would help achieve these goals, however, account for less than one-fourth of the bill’s cost. The remainder of the cost comes … -
Net Operating Loss Measure under Consideration In Senate Has Low Bang-For-The-Buck As Stimulus: No Justification for Waiving PAYGO for the Provision
February 26, 2008
According to news accounts, the Senate will soon consider a housing stimulus package (S. 2636), introduced by Senator Reid earlier this month.[1] While the package primarily targets the housing market, it also includes a measure dealing with business net operating losses. A business experiences a “net operating … -
Policy Points: Despite Some Problems, Senate Finance Committee Measure More Effective as Stimulus Than House Bill
February 1, 2008
Some have charged that the Senate, by failing to simply rubber-stamp the House-approved stimulus package, is delaying the injection of stimulus into the economy. This charge is incorrect. Some also have criticized the specific stimulus measures approved by the Senate Finance Committee.… -
Senate Rebate Proposal Targets More Funds to Low-Income Households, Boosting Stimulus Impact: Lifting Income Cap Reduces Bang-for-the-Buck, But Changes Are an Improvement Overall
Revised February 1, 2008
The stimulus legislation that was adopted by the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday would make several changes to the House-passed stimulus package, including significant changes to the tax rebate proposal that on balance would make the rebate more effective as stimulus. While retaining the House rebate’s basic structure, the Finance … -
Senate Action Will Not Delay Rebates
January 31, 2008
The facts are clear: Senate action on the stimulus package will not delay the rebates by a single day. The earliest that the IRS can begin to send out rebates is mid-May. No matter how fast Congress enacts the stimulus package, the IRS cannot start issuing the rebates any sooner because it must first process the 2007 … -
Repatriation Measure Unlikely to Stimulate the U.S. Economy or Boost U.S. Investment — But Will Promote Investment in Tax Havens and Undermine the Corporate Income Tax
January 30, 2008
When the Senate Finance Committee considers stimulus legislation today, Senator John Ensign is expected to offer an amendment dealing with repatriated foreign earnings. Modeled on a provision included in the 2004 American Jobs Creation Act, Senator Ensign’s amendment would create a tax holiday during which repatriated … -
An Analysis Of The Rebate Proposal In The Announced Stimulus Deal
January 25, 2008
The centerpiece of the stimulus deal announced yesterday by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John Boehner, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is a proposal to send rebate checks to 117 million U.S. households. The structure of the proposed rebate, while not ideal from a stimulus standpoint, is far superior to the … -
Tax Policy Center Estimates Show Fewer Than 60 Percent of Working Households Would Benefit In Full From President’s Proposed Rebate
January 22, 2008
The centerpiece of the President’s economic stimulus proposal reportedly is a tax rebate that would be provided by temporarily reducing the 10 percent income tax rate to zero. The plan has been described as featuring a rebate of $800 for individuals and $1,600 for couples. This description, however, is misleading. Only those …
