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Publications By Author
Author: Rivlin, Alice M.
Taking Back Our Fiscal Future (Occasional Paper)
Author(s):
Joseph Antos , Robert Bixby , Stuart Butler , Paul Cullinan , Alison Fraser , William Galston , Ron Haskins , Julia Isaacs , Maya MacGuineas , Will Marshall , Pietro Nivola , Rudolph G. Penner , Robert D. Reischauer , Alice M. Rivlin , Isabel V. Sawhill , C. Eugene Steuerle
The authors of this paper—longtime federal budget and policy experts—were drawn together by a deep concern about the nation's long-term fiscal outlook. Despite diverse philosophies and political leanings, they found solid common ground and agree that unsustainable deficits in the federal budget threaten the health and vigor of the American economy and the first step toward establishing budget responsibility is to reform the budget decision process so that the major drivers of escalating deficits—Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—are no longer on autopilot. The paper provides specific policy recommendations and outlines the reasons action is critical.
Published: 03/31/08
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The Need for a Stimulus Package Now (Testimony)
Author(s):
Alice M. Rivlin
I am happy to be here this morning to urge Congress to enact a stimulus package quickly. In brief, I believe that: A well-designed stimulus package is needed now as an insurance policy to reduce the risk of recession or mitigate its severity if it occurs; The compromise worked out by the President and Speaker Pelosi is well-designed to stimulate spending quickly, because it focuses on low- and moderate income people, and should be enacted as soon as possible; The Congress should resist the temptation to delay the package by adding other elements, however worthy, at this time; Risks posed by the package—that it will aggravate inflation or add to the long-run deficit—are worth taking to help stabilize the economy in the months ahead.
Published: 01/31/08
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How to Balance the Budget (Policy Briefs)
Author(s):
Alice M. Rivlin , Isabel V. Sawhill
The federal government is spending about $500 billion a year more than it is raising in taxes. If nothing is done, that gap will widen to around $700 billion annually by 2014 and accelerate rapidly thereafter. We present three ways to achieve balance over the next ten years. One option emphasizes spending cuts and leads to a smaller government. A second relies on tax increases and leads to bigger government. The third maintains government's current size, but makes it more effective, and contains a mix of spending reductions and tax increases, sufficient to achieve balance in ten years while preserving room for some high-priority new initiatives. We conclude that neither political party currently has a workable plan for reducing the long-term deficit, that both spending cuts and tax increases will be needed, and that stronger budget process rules would help members of Congress be more fiscally responsible. [© Brookings Institution]
Published: 03/01/04
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Restoring Fiscal Sanity (Book)
Author(s):
Isabel V. Sawhill , Alice M. Rivlin
This report provides a clear-eyed assessment of the federal budget outlook over the coming decade. It projects large and persistent deficits and discusses why they matter. The report suggests three ways to balance the budget while simultaneously making room for new priorities. One approach primarily involves spending cuts and smaller government, another relies more heavily on tax increases to support an activist government, and the third suggests a balanced mix of spending cuts and tax increases along with a reallocation of government priorities. All three are designed to restore fiscal sanity over the coming decade and help prepare for the baby boom's retirement. [© Brookings Institution]
Published: 01/13/04
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