Blog: The Fine Print / Revenue & Spending

CBO's Monthly Budget Update

Apr 6, 2007 by Craig Jennings

The CBO has released April's Monthly Budget Review. The short version: Revenues are higher this March than they were a year ago, thanks mostly to rising income and payroll taxes. The summary paragraph from the report: The federal government recorded a deficit of $257 billion for the first six months of fiscal year 2007, CBO estimates, $46 billion less than the shortfall incurred during the same period in 2006. Revenues have risen by 8 percent in the first half of the year, whereas outlays have grown by about 3 percent.

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WSJ Editorial Board's Pick-Me-Up

Apr 5, 2007 by Craig Jennings

Bummed that Ford is going to stick it to UAW workers as its executives use forklifts to carry their compensation to the bank, I decided to turn to the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal - always good for a laugh. And today's editorial, The World's Largest Tax Increase EverTM($), delivers. Congress has just lit a fuse for the biggest tax increase in history.

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GSA Chief Being Investigated

Apr 5, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Via Think Progress, looks like the Office of Special Counsel has launched an investigation into GSA chief Lurita Doan's possible Hatch Act violations.

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Senate Eyes S. 396, Dorgan Anti-Tax Haven Measure

Apr 5, 2007 by Dana Chasin

According a Deloitte Tax LLP report of March 26, Senate budget writers are looking at revenues generated by S. 396, an anti-tax haven bill introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), to help pay for the budget resolution.

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The Magic of the Health Care Market

Apr 5, 2007 by Matt Lewis

A just-released study found that a widely implemented, expensive technology to improve mammograms has been a resounding failure. The Chicago Tribune: The study is the latest development in the debate over the usefulness of screening mammograms, which are recommended for all women over 40. Regular mammography has been shown to reduce breast cancer deaths, especially in women older than 50. But the test is imperfect -- it misses up to 20 percent of cancers and often catches things that are not cancer, requiring worrisome and expensive follow-up.

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Double Standard in Evaluating Government at OMB

Apr 5, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

There was an interesting article in Government Executive magazine yesterday about measuring cost savings of federal jobs that are opened to public-private competitions. The specifics of the policies being developed by OMB and others within the federal government are quite complex, but one particular passage from the article references a statement from Office of Management and Budget Associate Administrator Mathew Blum that was moderately infuriating and still has me scratching my head:

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Exorbitant Executive Pay AfFORDable...

Apr 5, 2007 by Craig Jennings

...health care for workers, not so much. Reporting on Ford Motor Co's latest SEC filing, the Wall Street Journal informs us ($): [Ford's] top seven executives received compensation valued at more than $62 million in 2006, even as the 104-year-old auto maker posted a record $12.6 billion net loss for the year. ... [CEO Alan ] Mulally received a $666,667 salary, an $18.5 million bonus, options awards valued at $8.68 million, and other compensation for items such as use of a corporate aircraft and relocation costs.

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SCHIP Outreach Being Curtailed

Apr 5, 2007 by Matt Lewis

State Medicaid administrators have been telling state children's health insurance programs (SCHIP) to back off outreach efforts, Inside CMS ($) reports today. The crux of the issue is that when SCHIP programs do outreach, they tend to find and sign up children and adults not only for SCHIP, but for Medicaid, as well.

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OMB Database Caveats: Definition and Objective

Apr 5, 2007 by Dana Chasin

Below are two key caveats regarding the OMB earmark database project we lauded yesterday.
  • Limited Scope of Earmarks -- to include only congressionally-sourced earmarks. See OMB's own definition: Earmarks are funds provided by the Congress for projects or programs where the congressional direction circumvents the merit-based or competitive allocation process, or specifies the location or recipient ... for activities/projects/programs not requested by the Administration. (Emph. added.)

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Supplemental's Tax Supplement: is More Less Likely?

Apr 4, 2007 by Dana Chasin

The Joint Committee on Taxation released its score today of the tax provisions in last week's Senate-passed supplemental appropriations bill. The cost: $12.5 billion over 10 years, more than offset by $13.8 billion in revenue raisers. The president has promised to veto the bill on account of its war-related provisions, but the tax package is independently significant, since it builds on the Senate's small business tax piece of the minimum wage bill. Wage bills were passed earlier this year in both the House and Senate but have not gone to conference.

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