Each year the President submits a budget proposal to Congress. The presentation of the presidential budget is normally the most honest and sane time in the entire budgetary process, because it presents the complete picture, addresses how to close gaps, and explains why certain programs merit more or less spending. This is all on paper [...]
All Posts Tagged: 'Federal Budget'
Effective Tax Rates of the Richest 400 Americans
The IRS has just released an analysis of the richest 400 American tax filers (.pdf). The top-line finding drawing the most attention is that these 400 earned about $138 billion, collectively, in 2007, the most recent year of data. In contrast, the bottom 90 percent of Americans, over 24 million filers, earned $247 billion.
One less-noticed [...]
Budgets and Borrowing
The President’s Budget is out, and in the coming days there will be a lot of analysis about what is and is not in there. One thing to keep in mind moving forward is the big picture.
Namely, our budget is completely out of whack in terms of balancing spending and revenue. Below is a pie [...]
What He Said
During President Obama’s State of the Union address Wednesday night, there was an odd moment where he seemed startled by the audience’s reaction to his proposal to enact a spending freeze starting in 2011. The assembled Republicans guffawed at this assertion, presumably mocking him for not enacting the freeze now. Obama appeared visibly taken aback, [...]
Obama’s Ed Budget – When does an Increase Feel Like a Cut?
Today the Washington Post and Ed Week provided us all insight on the President’s 2011 education budget proposals. The highlights include a $4 billion (6.2% increase):
• $1.35 billion in Race to the Top II
• $1 billion reserved for ESEA reauthorization
• $1.65 billion for other priorities as part of a program consolidation proposal.
This sounds like good [...]
A Brand New Day for Federal Higher Education Funding
President Obama’s FY 2010 Budget Proposal includes the following:
Focuses on College Completion. It is not enough for the Nation to enroll more students in college; we also need to graduate more students from college. A few States and institutions have begun to experiment with these approaches, but there is much more they can do. The [...]
Government Autopilot
President Obama’s budget is out (.pdf), and the first thing that strikes me as entirely sensible is indexing to inflation some of our established tax and spending programs. Instead of arguing eternally over whether or by how much federal Pell Grants should be expanded, they would now automatically rise with the Consumer Price Index (plus [...]
Never Let A Serious Crisis Go To Waste
If all goes as planned, the Department of Education’s budget could double between now and President’s Day. Double. In. Less. Than. Three. Weeks. As I read reports and reactions in the edusphere, I’m amazed at the nonchalance from the left and the lack of imagination from the right.
Let’s start with the left. With post titles [...]
Smart, Unselfish Congressional Budget Policy. No, Really.
The iron-clad conventional wisdom around NCLB is that the law is an “unfunded mandate,” an idea driven by the disparity between the amount of money Congress has appropriated for the Title I program and the maximum amount it could appropriate, given the escalating annual authorization targets established in NCLB. For the first few years of [...]
Lowering Student Loan Default Rates: What One Consortium of Historically Black Institutions Did to Succeed 
College and Career-Ready: Using Outcomes Data to Hold High Schools Accountable for Student Success
03/19/10 | Ben Miller is quoted on college graduation rates and the NCAA Tournament in the Detroit Free Press.
03/19/10 | Linda Perlstein links to Education Sector's "College- and Career-Ready" event.
03/17/10 | Ben Miller's column on graduation rates and NCAA Tournament eligibility is mentioned on The Wall Street Journal's The Daily Fix.
03/17/10 | Kevin Carey's critique of Diane Ravitch's latest book is quoted in Doublethink's Conventional Folly blog.
03/15/10 | Ben Miller pens an op-ed for US News & World Report on using graduation rates to determine NCAA Tournament eligibility.