Congressional Budget Office

Congressional Budget Office’s Economic Outlook – Fiscal stimulus wane, projected economic growth falls back below the historical average

In CBO’s projections, deficits remain large by historical standards, and federal debt grows to equal 93 percent of GDP by 2029. As the effects of fiscal stimulus wane, projected economic growth falls back below the historical average. In CBO’s economic forecast, which underlies its budget projections, the economy expands more slowly over the next decade … Continue reading →

Unemployment Extension in US – A bipartisan compromise agreement on the table

Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) have  announced a bipartisan compromise agreement (Reed-Heller Agreement to Restore Emergency Unemployment Insurance) to restore federal jobless benefits which expired on December 28, 2013. The legislation would provide for a 5 month extension of federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) which expired on December 28th. The more … Continue reading →

Long-Term Unemployment in US – CBO on its causes, effects, and policy options

US – Yellen backs CBO’s minimum wage report

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen in Senate testimony subtly slapped the White House, which criticized a recent Congressional Budget Office report on the minimum wage, saying it didn’t represent a consensus among economists. The CBO report said raising the minimum wage would lift 900,000 people out of poverty, but would also lead to the elimination … Continue reading →

US Job Market / A slow recovery reflecting slow growth in demand says CBO

The deep recession that began in December 2007, when the economy began to contract, and ended in June 2009, when the economy began to expand again, has had a lasting effect on the labor market. More than four and a half years after the end of the recession, employment has risen sluggishly—much more slowly than … Continue reading →

Minimum Wage Estimated Impacts in US / CBO Director defends position

A number of economists from the White House and beyond have criticized a CBO report on the effects of potentially boosting the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. But CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf isn’t backing off. Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf defended a controversial report on the minimum wage Wednesday, amplifying a debate that … Continue reading →

Minimum Wage Increase in US / The CBO’s estimates of the effects on employment and family income

Increasing the minimum wage would have two principal effects on low-wage workers. Most of them would receive higher pay that would increase their family’s income, and some of those families would see their income rise above the federal poverty threshold. But some jobs for low-wage workers would probably be eliminated, the income of most workers … Continue reading →

Obamacare and Jobs / CBO Says Relax Everyone

Last week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office issued its analysis of Obamacare — the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act — finding that under the act, about 2.5 million workers would leave the workforce by 2024 as a result of the act’s provisions. Republicans immediately seized on the CBO finding, claiming the report proved that … Continue reading →

US / CBO estimates that extending the emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) program for one year would cost $25.7 billion

The Congressional Budget Office has completed an estimate of the budgetary effects of H.R. 3546, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2013 Continue reading →

US Long-Term Budget Outlook / Entitlement spending is growing writes CBO

Spending for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is growing and will continue to climb in the long-term Continue reading →

US / The Automatic Spending Reductions : Employment would be 0.3 million to 1.6 million higher otherwise finds CBO

Canceling the automatic spending reductions effective August 1 would increase outlays relative to those under current law by $14 billion in fiscal year 2013 and by $90 billion in fiscal year 2014 finds CBO Continue reading →

US / Unemployment Benefits / Temporary programs have significantly expanded the benefits

Benefits provided through the unemployment insurance system—a partnership between the federal government and state governments—tend to fluctuate automatically with the unemployment rate. In addition, in times of high unemployment, federal lawmakers often supplement regular and extended unemployment benefits with temporary programs. Since 2008, during and after the most recent recession, temporary programs have significantly expanded … Continue reading →

US | Wealthy | Would a tax hike cost 700,000 jobs ?

Rep. Pete Sessions, however, went further, and actually claimed hundreds of thousands of people would lose their jobs if Obama’s proposed tax increase went into effect. What’s the math behind his claim? The Facts According to an aide, Sessions obtained his figure from a study prepared last year by two economists at Ernst & Young for … Continue reading →

US | CBO | Unemployment lower in the next few years if the fiscal cliff removed

Substantial changes to tax and spending policies are scheduled to take effect in January 2013, significantly reducing the federal budget deficit. According to CBO’s projections, if all of that fiscal tightening occurs, real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product (GDP) will drop by 0.5 percent in 2013 (as measured by the change from the fourth quarter of … Continue reading →

Update | AS Social Security run out of money retirement at age 65 could be delayed

Social Security program to run out of money by 2035 | Economy | News | Financial Post The Social Security program will exhaust its trust fund in 2035 and have to start reducing benefits to senior citizens unless Congress intervenes, its trustees said. That is three years sooner than projected in 2011 for the retirement … Continue reading →