Month: October 2006

How Big is the Deficit– Really?

Posted on by Alex Welch

October 20, 2006 04:05 PM | | Bookmark and Share

On October 11, the Bush administration announced that the fiscal 2006 budget deficit is $248 billion. In reality the budget deficit is much larger. Including the $186 billion borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund, it is $434 billion for fiscal 2006. That brings total federal borrowing over the past five years to $2,413 billion.

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CTJ’s Congressional Tax Report Card: See How Your Senators and Representatives Voted on the Big Issues of Tax Fairness and Responsible Fiscal Policy

Posted on by Alex Welch

October 16, 2006 03:39 PM | | Bookmark and Share

Over the past six years, Congress and President Bush have made major changes to the federal tax system, dramatically affecting tax fairness, revenues and budget deficits. This Congressional Tax Report Card looks at the five key tax votes in the House and Senate that have produced these changes, plus one additional vote on an important recent tax bill that Congress narrowly rejected.

The Tax Report Card details how members of Congress voted on these six bills, and grades each member on the combination of his or her votes. The grading system is based on the combination of two criteria: tax fairness and fiscal responsibility — principles that all sides of the political debate at least pretend to honor.

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UPDATED: CTJ’s Bush Tax Cut Scorecard: Summary of Bush Tax Changes From 2001 to 2010

Posted on by Alex Welch

October 13, 2006 03:41 PM | | Bookmark and Share

After half a dozen major tax cuts in the first six years of the Bush administration—many of which have different phase-in dates, and almost all of which sunset completely after 2010—you need a scorecard to keep track of which cuts take effect each year. Here’s your scorecard: a year-by-year list of federal tax cuts (and hikes) taking effect between 2001 and 2010.

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