Blog: The Fine Print / Revenue & Spending

CMS Denies New SCHIP Rule Exemption for New York

Sep 11, 2007 by Craig Jennings

A couple weeks ago, the Bush Administration, via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) promulgated new rules affecting eligibility requirements to which states must adhere in the administration of their SCHIP programs. On Friday, New York became the first state to be denied an exemption. WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 — The Bush administration on Friday rejected a request from New York State to expand its children's health insurance program to cover 70,000 more uninsured youngsters, including some from middle-income families.

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Hold-Up in the Senate: Transparency Mugged Again

Sep 10, 2007 by Craig Jennings

The elimination under cover of darkness of that magnificent institution, the secret senatorial hold, is, apparently, a baleful "connivance" snuck into the lobbying and ethics bill, catching "rank-and-file" senators unawares and opening up the floodgates for "special interest measures," spoiling a "historic opportunity to expose secretive pork-barrel spending." If you doubt me, maybe you will believe Robert Novak?

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Paper Demystifying Carried Interest Issues Released

Sep 7, 2007 by Dana Chasin

Following up on the letter we reported was distributed this week from 300 organizations urging members of Congress to close the carried interest tax loophole, a working group of policy analysts has released a paper for advocates, legislative aides and members of the media. The paper, "Addressing Objections to H.R.

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War Supplemental On Hold Until October

Sep 7, 2007 by Craig Jennings

Roll Call ($): Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said Thursday that an upcoming Iraq spending bill likely will wait until October and potentially later because Congress still does not have final requests from the Bush administration.

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David Brooks On Health Care

Sep 7, 2007 by Matt Lewis

David Brooks in the NYT today promotes Stuart Butler's plan for reforming the health insurance system. Skepticism is advised, on political grounds. The principle political obstacle holding back an efficient and fair benefit system is public fragmentation. Some of us get most benefits from the government- some of us get them from the private sector (with help from the government that often goes unrecognized). And most people don't want to lose what they have, even if it might be for a better deal later on.

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College Access Bill To Be Enacted

Sep 6, 2007 by Matt Lewis

CongressDaily (subscription required) reports that the President will sign the Higher Education Access Act of 2007- a revenue-neutral bill that will give more help to students to pay for college.

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The Ubiquity of the Free-Lunch Supply-Siders

Sep 6, 2007 by Craig Jennings

Prompted by right-leaning Atlantic Monthly blogger Megan McArdle's criticism of Jon Chait's The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics, left blogistan has fired off a volley of posts refuting McArdle's assertion that free-lunch supply siders are an obscure, rare breed. McArdle:

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States Being Hit With Tax Shortfalls

Sep 6, 2007 by Matt Lewis

The Wall Street Journal reports that a slumping housing market has many states facing budget crises. Tremors from the housing market's slump are straining the budgets of state and local governments from coast to coast, sending officials scrambling to plug gaps. Rising defaults on subprime home loans are boosting the inventory of unsold homes and driving sale prices lower. That's cutting into housing-related revenues from building-permit fees, taxes on contracting and recording property transfers, and even sales taxes.

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What Do Americans Think About Inequality? Part III

Sep 6, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Why do Americans think inequality is a bad thing? There are, at least, five distinct explanations. A. It's in the majority's self-interest to redistribute. B. The public thinks unequal market outcomes are undeserved. C. It believes in unconditional equality. D. It believes in redistribution according to need. E. It believes unequal market outcomes are inefficient.

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Another Strike Against IRS Private Debt Collection

Sep 6, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

Does anyone really like the IRS' private debt collection program except the folks who are making money off of it? Apparently not. Yesterday, the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, an independent federal advisory panel made up of taxpayers from every state, released recommendations that the IRS "abandon all plans to outsource any taxpayer debts and restrict collection activities to properly trained and proficient IRS personnel." It's pretty clear where they stand on the program.

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