In the next year, lawmakers will consider different options for Social Security reform. In order to adopt the best policies, they must have all the facts. Unfortunately, much rampant confusion exists about how the Social Security trust funds operate. Some question whether the bonds held as...

On Monday, May 16, 2011, the United States reached the current statutory limit on the federal government's borrowing power, the debt limit or debt ceiling, of $14.294 trillion. In theory, reaching the debt limit constrains the Treasury's regular methods of financing federal activities or meeting...

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, local and state governments ordered households to self-quarantine and nonessential businesses to shut down. The economy slowed to a crawl and people lost their jobs. Three million new jobless claims were filed in the last week of March, and that was just...

In an effort to provide relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress charged the Small. Business Administration (SBA) with the task of administering a variety of credit programs, in part with the help and guidance of the US Department of the Treasury.Unfortunately, not only is the SBA...

Even if one is sympathetic to the idea of helping industries in times of crisis, the critical question to ask is, Are there more effective ways to resolve a company's financial problems than a taxpayer-funded bailout?While the airline industry is always fast to request a bailout, such a bailout...

In relation to an evolving labor market, the main focus of this paper is to examine whether the traditional model of higher education is effectively matching graduate skills to labor market demand. In light of a growing student debt burden and proposals for significant expansions in higher...

Although spending on infrastructure does not, in itself, stimulate the economy, infrastructure investments can contribute to economic growth, since infrastructure is part of the economy's capital stock. Investments in infrastructure can also benefit the economy by alleviating the problems that...

A growing number of state governors are voicing concern about the damage inflicted on their states' budgets—on both the revenue and the expenditure sides—by the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation is particularly dire for the many states that entered the current crisis with “preexisting...