Report
Long-Term Fiscal Challenges
Federal, state, and local governments face long-term fiscal challenges. Policy Futures analyzes the long-run budget situation; identifies policies that enhance economic growth and opportunity as well as reduce deficits; promotes federal and state tax systems that are equitable, efficient, and raise sufficient revenues; helps states improve their fiscal planning; and resists efforts to impose federal and state fiscal straightjackets.
Strengthening Medicare Financing
Medicare’s Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund faces depletion in only about three years, according to the latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). To improve program solvency...
Federal Spending and Revenue Needs Will Grow
Spending and revenues will have to grow significantly as a share of the economy in coming years just to enable the federal government to continue carrying out existing functions that the...
Federal Spending and Revenues Will Need to Grow in Coming Years, Not Shrink
Federal spending and taxes will have to grow significantly as a share of the economy in the coming decades. This is not a statement of political values; it’s a reflection of basic...
Tax Reform Must Not Lose Revenues — and Should Increase Them
Otherwise, the entire burden of reducing the deficit to prevent unsustainable debt levels will fall on federal programs, including Social Security and...
Block-Granting Low-Income Programs Leads to Large Funding Declines Over Time, History Shows
Funding for housing, health, and social services block grants has fallen significantly over time, an examination of several decades of budget data...
Facts Don’t Justify Expected GOP Assault on Domestic Programs
The upcoming budgets from the Trump Administration and congressional Republicans are expected to contain deep cuts in domestic programs. A pair of CBPP reports show why two of the principal arguments...
Long-Term Budget Outlook Has Improved Significantly Since 2010 But Remains Challenging
The nation’s long-term fiscal outlook is much improved since 2010, but nevertheless worsens gradually under current budget policies during the coming three...
State Infrastructure Investments Pay Off Now and Later
Just in time for Infrastructure Week, a new report from the American Society of Civil Engineers highlights the deterioration in our roads, bridges, water treatment systems, and other infrastructure....
History Shows Block-Granting Shrinks Funding Over Time
The House Budget Committee budget plan’s proposals to convert Medicaid and SNAP (formerly food stamps) to block grants have raised once again the issue of block-granting key safety net...
States Can Balance Investments in Infrastructure and Other Priorities
Now is an especially good time for states to invest in infrastructure assets that are key to long-term economic growth, but these much-needed investments shouldn’t come at the expense of priorities...