Urban Institute experts weigh in on current social and economic policy issues.
Dear Metro chief: It's Not Going to be Fun Olivia Golden Posted: March 12, 2010
Institute Fellow Olivia Golden, the former head of the District of Columbia's Child and Family Services Agency, offers the region’s subway and bus system five management lessons for turning around the problem-plagued agency.
A New April 15: Make It a Day of Giving (Efficiently) C. Eugene Steuerle Posted: March 04, 2010
President Barack Obama on January 22 signed into law a provision allowing charitable gifts made for Haiti relief during February and most of January 2010 to be deducted on 2009 federal tax returns. This noble sentiment would work a lot better if deductions were allowed for all giving made to qualified charities by April 15.
Courage to Break Promises that We Can't Afford to Keep John L. Palmer,
Rudolph G. Penner Posted: March 02, 2010The chairs of a major study commission on our nation's fiscal future say it's time for political leaders and the electorate to come to grips with the tough choices and votes needed to put the country on a sound economic path.
Good Intentions Aren't Enough Carol J. De Vita Posted: February 23, 2010
In an interview for Faith & Leadership, DeVita discusses the role of faith-based organizations in disaster relief and Katrina's lessons for relief in Haiti. Faith-based organizations are good at providing immediate relief, but have less capacity to support sustained recovery in areas devastated by natural disasters. Planning ahead, working with large, established organizations and connecting with local people are keys to successful relief efforts.
Tax Issues Related to Small Business Job Creation Eric Toder Posted: February 23, 2010
Eric Toder testified before the Senate Committee on Finance on how recently proposed incentives for small business may help economic recovery. These incentives are only a small component of broader policies to accelerate recovery from the deep recession we have experienced in the past two years and reduce unemployment.
Hearing on "Halfway Home to the District: The Role of Halfway Houses in Reducing Crime and Recidivism in the Nation's Capital" Nancy G. La Vigne Posted: February 03, 2010
This congressional testimony summarizes research on the utility of halfway houses in
facilitating the successful reentry of former prisoners, emphasizing that not all halfway
houses are effective in preventing recidivism. Halfway houses that work have qualified
staff who use such evidence-based practices as needs assessments and tailored,
wraparound services. Halfway houses are most effective for medium- and high-risk
prisoners. However, they can actually be detrimental for low-risk prisoners, who would
fair better by simply returning directly to their families and communities. This research
suggests that the District of Columbia's halfway houses should be reserved for higher-risk
returning prisoners.
Choosing the Nation's Fiscal Future Rudolph G. Penner Posted: February 11, 2010
Today's federal budget policies are unsustainable. Three programs - Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid - constitute more than 40 percent of spending other than interest in a normal year and all are growing faster than the economy and tax revenues. At the same time, Congress has kept the overall tax burden remarkably constant as a share of gross domestic product for most of the past 50 years. The combination of these factors leads to a growing deficit. This testimony, by a former Congressional Budget Office director, discusses four policy packages that would return the United States to a sustainable budget.
A Comment on "The Massachusetts Health Plan - Much Pain, Little Gain" Sharon K. Long Posted: February 02, 2010
The Cato Institute recently released a study of health reform in Massachusetts by Aaron Yelowitz and Michael F. Cannon, entitled "The Massachusetts Health Plan: Much Pain, Little Gain." That study reports fewer gains in health insurance coverage and higher costs than have been reported by earlier studies. As the Urban Institute has done a substantial amount of research on health reform in Massachusetts, we have received a number of requests to reconcile the findings on health insurance coverage from the Cato study with the findings from earlier work. This paper is a response to those requests.
Let's freeze more than chump change Leonard E. Burman Posted: February 02, 2010
President Obama has proposed to freeze most domestic discretionary spending -- a step in the right direction, but not enough. The $250 billion in expected savings over the next decade is chump change compared with deficits that could top $10 trillion if policy doesn't change.
Budgeting in the Ideal and in the United States Rudolph G. Penner Posted: January 21, 2010Institute Fellow Rudy Penner describes how the U.S. budget is prepared by the executive branch and Congress, and how it then is implemented by the executive branch. The budget preparation process could be improved, Penner asserts, but budget implementation works smoothly and efficiently. The severe long-run budget problem the country faces is caused by only three spending programs: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. All are growing faster than the economy, and there is strong opposition against raising tax burdens. Changes are suggested for the budget process so that it is better suited for dealing with this long-run problem.
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