Who is Donald Trump? Right now he is the GOP’s front runner. He is a businessman. He has been a reality TV host. He has been in the news for years, and he is news today. But what does a Donald Trump policy agenda look like? It is unclear. First, a look at his campaign […]
Many voters have said during this election season that they want a president who “tells it like it is.” At the March 10 Republican presidential debate, the candidates were given an opportunity for such candor when the politically treacherous subject of Social Security was raised. With Social Security, “telling it like it is” requires recognition […]
During the February 11th debate, the candidates repeated several proposals that they had offered during previous debates and also featured new policies that could have an impact on spending. Secretary Hillary Clinton added seven items to her agenda, five of which would increase annual outlays by $15.345 billion, and two whose costs are indeterminate due […]
The most newsworthy exchange in the most recent Democratic presidential debate was one that didn’t get a lot of attention. It came when Bernie Sanders challenged Hillary Clinton to join him in promising to apply the Social Security payroll tax to income more than $250,000 a year. “I think it’s fair to say we don’t have a […]
A few days ago, we got the news that for the first time ever, government spending on retirement benefits won’t be the biggest ticket item in the federal budget. According to a new Congressional Budget Office report, in 2015 spending on Social Security was displaced from its first-place position by spending on health care programs, […]