The federal government is on track to run a record-shattering $4 trillion budget deficit in 2020, in large part due to its aggressive fiscal response to the pandemic-induced recession. Some on the right have raised alarm about this borrowing, despite their support for budget-busting tax cut and border-control policies over the last three years. The…
Publications
One of the biggest productivity advances in recent years has been the use of platforms to connect buyers and sellers at lower cost. Platforms offer less rigid contractual arrangements, expanded earnings opportunities for workers and access to essential goods and services for underserved communities. Overall, platforms generate win-win economic activity which benefits everyone. The flexibility…
Because of COVID-19 Tax Day moved this year from April to July. That means the debate over the supposed panacea to the convoluted process of filing taxes – a return-free filing system (RFF) – is now making its annual appearance, albeit four months late. The return-free filing idea has been around for a longtime and…
Press
As federal and state governments outline plans for reopening the economy, lawmakers will have to grapple with the challenge of getting tens of millions of Americans back to work as quickly as possible. More than 47 million Americans have filed for unemployment since the pandemic began, with the unemployment rate at 13.3 percent in May. The economic damage has…
Ben Ritz, the Director of PPI's Center for Funding America's Future, presented to students during two breakout sessions at the New England College Convention in Manchester, New Hampshire this week. The first session was a joint presentation about the national debt as an intergenerational issue with Bob Bixby from The Concord Coalition and Brian Riedl from the Manhattan Institute. The panelists…
Congress voted this week for a $1.9 trillion tax and spending deal, over a quarter of which was added to our $23 trillion national debt. Thanks to this and other fiscally irresponsible legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump, the federal government will run an annual budget deficit of over $1 trillion this year and every year that comes after it. Yet…
Blog
Consumers are getting turned down for all sorts of financial products, from personal and auto loans to credit cards. The Wall Street Journal, using Equifax data, reports that credit card approvals totaled 483,000 in the week ending May 10, down from 856,000 in the week ending March 22. To compare to the year prior, weekly…
Two bills introduced in Congress, H.R. 6370 and S. 3508, ‘‘Disaster Protection for Workers’ Credit Act of 2020’’ would impose a moratorium on credit reporting of “adverse information” for the duration of the coronavirus crisis. Credit scores are an integral part of the consumer credit underwriting process as their power to predict the likelihood of…
The Director of PPI’s Center for Funding America’s Future, Ben Ritz, joined personal-finance advisor Ric Edelman on his nationally syndicated radio show to discuss the challenges facing Social Security, their role in the 2020 election, and PPI's proposal to strengthen the program for future generations. Listen to the interview below and read our full plan…
