Economy Archive
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Off the Charts Blog: In Case You Missed It...
May 17, 2013
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Policy Basics: How Many Weeks of Unemployment Compensation Are Available?
Updated May 13, 2013
The unemployment insurance (UI) system helps many people who have lost their jobs by temporarily replacing part of their wages. (See “Introduction to Unemployment Insurance.”) The total number of weeks of benefits available in any particular state depends on the unemployment rate and unemployment insurance laws in the state where the person … -
Statement by Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the April Employment Report
May 3, 2013
Today’s jobs report shows that labor markets still bear the scars of the Great Recession despite 38 straight months of private-sector job growth and a drop in the unemployment rate from 7.9 percent to 7.5 percent since January. Unemployment remains stubbornly high and many people who would likely have a … -
Chart Book: The Legacy of the Great Recession
Updated May 3, 2013
The United States went through its longest, and by most measures worst economic recession since the Great Depression between December 2007 and June 2009. This chartbook will document the course of the economy following that recession against the background of how deep a hole the recession created … -
Policy Basics: Federal Payroll Taxes
Updated April 15, 2013
The federal government levies payroll taxes primarily on wages and self-employment income and uses most of the revenue to fund Social Security, Medicare, and other social insurance benefits. Federal payroll taxes generated $845 billion in 2012, or 35 percent of all federal revenues (see “Policy Basics: Where Do Federal Tax Revenues Come From?”). … -
President Obama’s Deficit-Reduction Package and Other Proposals in the 2014 Budget
April 11, 2013
The President’s 2014 budget is presented in two parts. One part includes the package of deficit- reduction policies that the President included in his last offer to Speaker Boehner during the “fiscal cliff” negotiations in December 2012. This package would reduce the deficit by $1.8 trillion over the next decade … -
Statement by Robert Greenstein, President, on President Obama’s FY 2014 Budget
April 10, 2013
President Obama’s budget includes a $1.8 trillion deficit reduction package that reflects his last offer to Speaker Boehner during their budget talks in December. The new budget — like the President’s offer — represents a substantial compromise on the President’s part; compared to the President’s original offer to the … -
Statement by Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the March Employment Report
April 5, 2013
Today’s jobs report, with disappointing job growth and a large drop in the labor force, shows that a robust jobs recovery remains elusive. That situation won’t likely improve in coming months as the sequestration budget cuts begin to slow the economic recovery and make it harder … -
Ryan Roundup 2013: Everything You Need to Know About Chairman Ryan’s Latest Budget
March 22, 2013
Below is a compilation of the CBPP analyses and blog posts on House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s budget, which the House has passed. Overview/General Statement: Robert Greenstein, President, on Chairman Ryan’s Budget Plan March 12, 2013 “When House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan released his previous budget last … -
Commentary: Why Balancing the Budget by the End of the Decade Is Not the Right Goal
March 20, 2013
As the House and Senate consider their respective budget resolutions this week, a key point of debate will be whether balancing the budget over the decade is an essential goal. We don’t think it is. We agree with Alice Rivlin, a former director of both the Congressional Budget … -
Deficit Reduction Should Not Increase Poverty and Hardship
March 11, 2013
Executive Summary With President Obama and lawmakers of both parties vowing to achieve further deficit reduction, the stakes are high for low- and moderate-income Americans. If policymakers heavily target programs that serve vulnerable Americans, they will run the risk of increasing poverty and hardship and reducing opportunity for … -
SNAP Is Effective and Efficient
Updated March 11, 2013
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP — formerly the Food Stamp Program) is the cornerstone of the nation’s safety net and nutrition assistance programs. It currently provides over 47 million participants in about 23 million low-income households with debit cards they can use to purchase food each month.… -
Jared Bernstein Testimony: Tax Expenditures: How Cutting Spending Through the Tax Code Can Lower the Deficit, Improve Efficiency, and Boost Fairness in the US Tax Code
March 5, 2013
Chairman Murray, ranking member Sessions, I thank you for the opportunity to testify today. These are uniquely challenging times for fiscal policy. Our national economy continues to face a series of self-imposed fiscal deadlines in the forms of cliffs, ceilings, and most recently, sequestration. Various independent analyses find … -
Economic Downturn and Legacy of Bush Policies Continue to Drive Large Deficits
Updated February 28, 2013
Federal deficits and debt have been sharply higher under President Obama, but the evidence continues to show that the Great Recession, President Bush’s tax cuts, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq explain most of the deficits that have occurred on Obama’s watch — based on the latest Congressional Budget Office projections … -
Tax Expenditure Reform: An Essential Ingredient of Needed Deficit Reduction
February 27, 2013
The revenue raised as part of January’s American Tax Relief Act (ATRA) came primarily as a result of raising tax rates on high-income households. Yet throughout the negotiations around avoiding the fiscal cliff last year, both President Obama and Speaker Boehner called for raising revenue through limiting tax deductions, exclusions, and other tax breaks … -
Testimony of Robert Greenstein, President, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Before the Senate Committee on Finance
February 26, 2013
Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Finance Committee, I appreciate the invitation to testify here today. As we all know, the nation faces fiscal and economic challenges, and we will have to make some tough decisions to put the budget on a more sustainable fiscal course and to do so without hindering a still-too-weak economic … -
Testimony of Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on Unintended Consequences: Is Government Effectively Addressing the Unemployment Crisis?
February 14, 2013
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on this important topic. The first half of my testimony focuses on the macroeconomic roots of our current jobs crisis and the second part focuses specifically on unemployment insurance. There is no doubt that the United States continues to suffer a … -
Testimony of Robert Greenstein, President, Before Senate Budget Committee
February 13, 2013
I appreciate the invitation to testify today on the impact of federal budget decisions on families and communities. This is an important matter. As you know, the nation will have to make tough decisions to put the budget on a more sustainable fiscal course. The issue is not only whether policymakers act to secure adequate … -
Introduction to Unemployment Insurance
Updated February 6, 2013
The federal-state unemployment insurance system (UI) helps many people who have lost their jobs by temporarily replacing part of their wages while they look for work. Created in 1935, it is a form of social insurance, with contributions being paid into the system on behalf of working people so that they have income support if they lose … -
Testimony of Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow, Before the House Education and Workforce Committee
February 5, 2013
Chairman Kline and ranking member Miller, I thank you for inviting me to testify today on issues directly in the wheelhouse of this committee: education, skills, and jobs. My testimony begins by looking at the current jobs situation with an emphasis on educational investments. I then discuss ways in which recent budget cuts are threatening the … -
Statement by Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the January Employment Report
February 1, 2013
Employers continued to add jobs in January (see chart), but the economy must grow faster to bring unemployment down more quickly. Instead, the recovery apparently has hit a soft patch, and both growth and job creation could slow further if policymakers let the automatic across-the-board … -
Statement by Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the December Employment Report
January 4, 2013
The economy added private sector jobs for the 34th straight month in December, but a robust recovery remains elusive, long-term unemployment remains very high (see chart), and threats to the economy from misguided policies in Washington remain significant. Policymakers appropriately renewed …
