KeithHennessey.com

There has been a lot of debate about whether the President’s budget improves or worsens the future deficit picture.  This is a debate mostly about baselines – what do you assume would happen otherwise?  Rather than engaging in that debate here, I am going to look at the results of what the President has proposed. [...]

Now that we have reviewed how big a bite the government has taken out of the economy over time, let’s examine the competing tax proposals for the near future. Revenues are only one element of a budget proposal.  For a complete picture of the effect of a budget proposal on the rest of the economy, [...]

Critical policy fights sometimes happen long before a bill comes up for a vote.  Legislative process and strategy intersect early to determine the balance of power for a future vote on policy.  Health care legislation is several months away from a floor vote, but the tactical maneuvering has already begun. Fair warning:  we’re going to [...]

President Bush has signed into law 15 bills cutting taxes.  The 2001 and 2003 tax laws were the biggies.  Here’s a list. This President has a well-established record as a tax cutter.  Many of our critics argue that we cut taxes too much, and that we need to repeal some or all of the enacted [...]

The President spoke about the budget yesterday when we released the Mid-Session Review, the summer update of the budget numbers. Here’s the least you need to know: This year’s deficit (for Fiscal Year 2007) is now projected to be $205 billion. Good news:  That’s $43 billion lower than last year’s deficit, and $39 billion lower [...]