The House recently passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act (TRAFWA) of 2024, which aims to provide tax relief to businesses and families with children in a fiscally responsible manner. But, as fellow John W. Diamond’s new commentary explains, if the bill succeeds, it would instead deliver more reckless tax giveaways while further delaying a real effort to deal with the consequences of poor fiscal policy.
Legislative action on the ballooning federal deficit is long overdue. Fellow John W. Diamond proposes a new nonpartisan fiscal commission to bypass congressional inaction on reform.
Convening war rooms, planning speedy bailouts and raising "house-on-fire" alarm bells: Those are a few of the ways the biggest banks and financial regulators are preparing for a potential default on U.S. debt.
Texas lawmakers must address the misuse of anticipation notes — short-term debt securities used to raise money for public projects, writes John Diamond, the Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance. Since they don’t require voter approval, politicians could use them to fund unwanted projects, he explains.
What’s the cheapest, quickest way to reduce climate change without roiling the economy? In the United States, it may be by reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.
Who is benefiting from Europe's skyrocketing natural gas prices? "Middle men” companies who buy natural gas or LNG in the U.S and sell LNG in Europe are receiving the windfall, write fellows Steven Miles and Anna Mikulska.
The most recent price tag for Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan is an estimated half-trillion dollars or more. Will higher inflation be another cost?
What would happen if Russian gas stopped flowing to Europe? After recent gas cutoffs to Poland and Bulgaria, other countries’ decision on gas imports from Russia need to represent a definitive, unifying statement that time for Russian dominance over EU gas imports is over, write the authors. Read the post on the Baker Institute Blog.
This article originally appeared in the Forbes blog on May 3, 2022.