08/19/19
Here’s a blueprint for balancing the budget, incorporating proposals from a variety of sources. Hang in there, fiscal hawks, we still have a chance to avert disaster. Read More...Tags: Congressional Budget Office, Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, Republcan Study Committee, Office of Management and Budget, Citizens Against Goverment Waste, tax credits, tax collections, federal grants, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid
08/05/19
Responsible budgeting isn’t exactly in vogue right now, but let’s hear it for the political leaders and other people who are trying to bring it back. Read More...Tags: Bipartisan Budget Act, Sen Tom Carper, Sen. Mike Enzi, Gene Dodaro, David Walker, Peterson Foundation, Sen. Mike Braun, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Sen. Ron Johnson, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, SBC proposals for budget process, Joint resolutions, biennial budgeting, Fiscal Control Committee, no filibusters for appropriatoin bills , reconciliation process, CBO cost estimate for appropriatoin bills
07/29/19
The Bipartisan Budget Act will compound the fiscal problem, and ironically the debt limit – which is supposed to help constrain spending – provided an excuse for hasty action. Read More...Tags: Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, Rep. Thomas Massie, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Offfsets, Steven Mnuchin, debt limit, President Donald Trump , budget proposal for fY 2020, Russell Vought, Sen. Mitch McConnell, offsets, CHIMPS, no "poison pills", President Barack Obama Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, James Madison, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Esper, economic results, trade policies
06/17/19
As though it wasn’t hard enough to assess competing government programs on a benefit/cost basis, comparisons are further complicated by using varying funding strategies. Read More...Tags: ethanol blending mandate, President Donald Trump, benefit/cost ratio, strategic importance, job training programs, disability awards, Social Security payments to dead people, Medicare, low balling costs, targeted spending cuts, log rolling, filibuster rule, trust fund, Social Security, regulatory mandates, renewable energy , student loan mess, Alice Rivlin
05/27/19
SAFE board mulls some tough issues, including reviving the interest of our political leaders in balancing the budget vs. promising “free stuff” that taxpayers aren’t willing to pay for. Read More...Tags: joe Biden, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, President Donald Trump, President Barack Obama, China trade war, Strategas Research Partners, Morgan Stanley, Lewis Powell, Federal Researc monetary policy, Fed inflation target, Sen. Tom Carper, Bloom Energy, PSC, DNREC, John Nichols, Sen. Harris McDowell, John Greer, Gov. John Carney, MD Governor Larry Hogan
05/20/19
Senate Budget Committee is reviewing the budget process. SAFE is pleased to support these and other efforts to make things better, with the ultimate goal of balancing the budget and keeping it that way.
Read More...Tags: SAFE letters on fiscal problem, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, BP-2020, budget caps, Rep. John Yarmuth, Sen. Mike Enzi, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Ron Wyden, Enzi Plan, SBC review of budget process, Sen. Kent Conrad, Sen. Judd Gregg, Bowles-Simpson commission
03/25/19
The House and Senate Budget Committees reviewed the president's budget proposal from every angle. Republicans seem worried about budget deficits; Democrats are more concerned about spending cuts. Read More...Tags: pesident's budget proposal, President Donald Trump, Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney, Russell Vought, House Budget Committee, Rep. John Yarmuth, Rep. Steve Womack, Overseas Contingency Operations, Rep. Seth Moulton, Sen. Mike Enzi, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen . Debbie Stabenow, Sen. David Perdue, Sen. Ron Wyden, Sen. Ron Johnson, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Sen. John Kennedy, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, discretionary spending caps
03/18/19
The president’s budget proposal doesn’t go far enough, but it will represent a big step in the right direction – if Congress is paying attention. Read More...Tags: President Donald Trump, SAFE letters, Office of Management and Budget, Budget Proposal 2020, defense spending, nondefense spending, mandatory programs, Interest expense, budget caps, Overseas Contingency Fund, Medicare, Congressional Budget Office, budget deficits, Russell Vought, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, "modern economic theory", This time is different
02/25/19
SAFE contacts selected political leaders re path forward for the fiscal problem. Effective presidential leadership would be essential as Congress isn't equipped to get the job done on its own.
Read More...Tags: Congressional Budget Office, President Donald Trump, Peter Schiff, budget caps, Rep. John Yarmuth, carbon tax, President Ronald Reagan, targeted spending cuts, Major Savings and Reforms, presidential leadership, President Bill Clinton
02/18/19
SAFE suggestions: Abolish debt limit, prune spending, don't expand entitlements, don't raise taxes, expect 2020 presidential candidates to support balancing the budget.
Read More...Tags: Rep. Paul Ryan, President Barack Obama, Congressional Budget Office, Social Security, healthcare programs, Interest expense, Green New Deal, Medicare for all, President Donald Trump, Office of Management and Budget, Joint Select Committe re budget process, Balanced Budget Amendment, Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, debt limit, Steven Mnuchin, Citizens Against Government Waste, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security 2100 Act , Ivankacare, tariffs, carbon tax, business tax breaks, Budget Reconciliation Act, Rep. Kevin Brady
11/26/18
Bipartisan reform of the "broken" congressional budget system sounded like a nice idea, but the JSC proposals wouldn't deliver any real benefits. Better to leave things as they are. Read More...Tags: Bipartisan Budget Act, Joint Select Committe re budget process, Joint Select Committe on Deficit Reduction, Tom Schatz, Michael Tanner, Mick Mulvaney, House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Speaker John Boehner, Amakudari, Rep. Steve Womack, groupthink, Steven Covey, David Obey, Budget Contol Act, Congressional Budget Office, continuing resolutions, biennial budgeting, spending caps, appropriation committees, Senate filibuster rule, reconciliation process, debt limit