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IN BRIEF: Cutting the Safety Net Is Not an Effective Way to Reduce Government Spending

BRIEFLY… High-stakes negotiations over the debt limit center on ways to bring government spending more in line with government revenues. The political contours of the debate have excluded cuts to Social Security and Medicare from consideration, as well as the possibility of raising taxes. With these options off the table, much of what is left ...

Figure 1: Income and Expenditures over the Pandemic

Figure 2: Income and Expenditures over the Great Recession

Figure 3: Average funds per capita versus Congressional Representation and Congressional Democratic party share

Figure 4: Estimated shortfall from 2020 (Q2) – 2022 (Q2)

Figure 5: Indexed tax base shortfalls and surpluses based on simple linear forecasts

Figure 1: Trend in US general fertility rate

Figure 2: Children ever born by Mother’s age, by Mother’s birth cohort

Figure 3: Total fertility rate in the United States and other high-income countries