CBO Releases a Report on the Taxation of Capital and Labor Through the Self-Employment TaxSeptember 27, 2012 |
CBO Releases a Report on the Proposed Homeland Security Budget for 2013September 27, 2012Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the federal government has spent more than half a trillion dollars on homeland security—that is, activities that detect, deter, protect against, and respond to terrorist acts occurring within the United States and its territories. Those activities are carried out by numerous federal agencies and include many, but not all, of the responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In fact, only about half of the $69 billion in funding for homeland security in the President’s budget for 2013 would be allocated to DHS.
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Presentation at the University of Michigan September 21, 2012I was pleased to visit the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan yesterday. I had the opportunity to talk with a number of professors and students about the nation's fiscal challenges and many specific budget and economic issues that CBO is working on. My presentation addressed the factors putting pressure on the budget and some of the criteria that might be used to evaluate potential policy changes. (Audio of the event)
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CBO Releases a Study on the Effects of Federal Tax Credits for the Purchase of Electric VehiclesSeptember 20, 2012CBO estimates that federal policies to promote the manufacture and purchase of electric vehicles (including some policies that support other types of fuel-efficient vehicles) will have a total budgetary cost of about $7.5 billion through 2019. Tax credits for buying electric vehicles—which account for about one-fourth of that budgetary cost—are likely to have the greatest impact on vehicle sales.
Today CBO released a study on the effects of federal tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles. CBO finds that:
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Presentation at Wellesley CollegeSeptember 17, 2012I was honored to present the Marshall Goldman Lecture at Wellesley College last week. Marshall Goldman has been one of the leading experts on the Russian economy for many years and is a distinguished emeritus member of Wellesley's faculty. I met Marshall more than 20 years ago, and I enjoyed seeing him again and talking with other professors at Wellesley (who include both a former student and a co-author of mine) and with Wellesley students. I spoke about the budgetary challenges facing the United States; you can see the slides from my presentation.
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Federal Budget Deficit Totaled $1.17 Trillion for the First 11 Months of 2012, CBO EstimatesSeptember 10, 2012CBO estimates in its latest Monthly Budget Review that the Treasury Department will report a deficit of $1.17 trillion for the first 11 months of fiscal year 2012, almost $70 billion less than the deficit at the same point last year. Through the end of August, revenues in fiscal year 2012 were about 6 percent higher and outlays about 2 percent higher than they were through August of last year.
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