Skip to main content
off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS

In Case You Missed It…

| By CBPP

This week on Off the Charts, we talked about deficit-reduction plans, the Balanced Budget Amendment, the debt limit, the economy, and housing assistance.

  • On deficit-reduction plans, we explained why the “Cut, Cap and Balance Act” is one of the most ideologically extreme pieces of budget legislation in years, if not decades; Robert Greenstein appeared on MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” to discuss the proposal’s harmful effects. Greenstein also clarified some misunderstandings about the proposal from the Senate’s “Gang of Six,” and we issued an analysis of that proposal, concluding that it is the most balanced of the major proposals now on the table.
  • On the Balanced Budget Amendment, leading economists that CBPP and the Economic Policy Institute brought together released a public letter to policymakers opposing such a measure.
  • On the debt limit, Kathy Ruffing cautioned legislators not to hold the debt limit hostage to approval of particular deficit-reduction measures.
  • On the economy, Chad Stone highlighted two new studies debunking the claim that sharp, immediate cuts in government spending would stimulate the economy.
  • On housing assistance, Douglas Rice described ways to make “Section 8” rental assistance programs more cost-effective.

In other news, Robert Greenstein released a statement on the “Cut, Cap and Balance Act” and we issued a letter from leading economists explaining why the Balanced Budget Amendment is bad for the economy. We outlined several steps to make Section 8 rental assistance programs more efficient and explained that budget negotiators need to separate the debt limit issue from the long-term deficit issue. We also analyzed the “Gang of Six” budget plan.