Barry Poulson and John Merrifield
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Gloomy forecasts are becoming ubiquitous, lending credence to the view that economics is the dismal science.
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Budgets/TaxesFeatured
Who Needs Bipartisanship Without a Budget Constraint?
by Barry Poulson and John Merrifield September 19, 2018In 2018, all federal appropriation bills (with bipartisan support) have passed out of their respective committees.
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Budgets/Taxes
Is a Financial Crisis Inevitable?
by Barry Poulson and John Merrifield August 23, 2018How debt is shaping up to be our undoing.
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Budgets/Taxes
Tied to the Mast: Connecticut Imposes a ‘Debt Brake’
by Barry Poulson and John Merrifield July 12, 2018In Homer’s Odyssey, sailors are lured to the rocky shores of an island by an irresistible siren song. To prevent his ship from succumbing to the song, Odysseus orders his sailors to fill their ears with wax and tie him to the ship’s mast.
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Budgets/Taxes
Closing The Debt-Driven Fiscal Gap Just Got A Lot Harder
by Barry Poulson and John Merrifield April 24, 2018Since 2005, the Congressional Budget Office has published an annual report on the long-term sustainability of U.S. fiscal policies.
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Budgets/TaxesHealth Care
Why It’s So Difficult to Reform Entitlement Programs: Friedrich Hayek and the Libertarian Perspective
by Barry Poulson and John Merrifield October 12, 2017Republicans in Congress appear to be at an impasse in their efforts to reform health care programs.
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Budgets/Taxes
Our Debt Crisis Calls for a New Fiscal Paradigm
by Barry Poulson and John Merrifield August 23, 2017In the coming weeks, Congress will again debate increasing the debt limit.
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Budgets/Taxes
The United States Has No Fiscal Space Left
by Barry Poulson and John Merrifield July 12, 2017The Great Recession and slower economic growth in recent years have been accompanied by a discontinuous increase in debt-to-GDP ratios in most countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), most notably the United States.