C. Eugene Steuerle's Blog: The Government We Deserve, page 8

Thanks, Boston, for Restoring My Faith

Like many others, I have found it difficult to maintain a sense of optimism this campaign season. A day at the Boston marathon more than took away my gloom.

What the Success of Trump and Clinton Portends for Future Elections

Despite their divergent policy views, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have many similarities that help explain their success in this election season. Pay attention: these lessons will be taken up, for better or worse, by future candidates seeking office in an unreformed system and by those in Congress, the states, or the political parties seeking reform after viewing with disdain the 2016 primary election process.

Opportunity for All Isn’t Gonna Happen on This Path

It’s hard to believe that we can’t do a lot better with the $60,000 in federal and state spending and tax subsidies we spend annually per household, or the $2 million in health, retirement, education, and other direct supports scheduled for each child born today. My recent study finds that the US budget is moving increasingly away from promoting opportunity for all.

EITC Expansion Backed By Obama and Ryan Could Penalize Marriage For Many Low-Income Workers

President Barack Obama and Speaker Paul Ryan have proposed similar expansions of the earned income tax credit (EITC) for low-income workers without children. Their goal is laudable: to provide some modest additional income support for low-income workers currently excluded from the EITC. But as designed, their proposals would penalize many low-income workers who choose to marry or are married.

What is Our Part in Making the Country Great Again?

Though I believe we should be optimistic about our future, these slogans, along with presidential campaigns more generally, pretend to offer one easy solution to thousands of very complicated problems.

The Zuckerberg Charitable Pledge and Giving from One’s Wealth

The Zuckerberg-Chan pledge falls into a class of efforts sometimes labeled “fourth sector” initiatives, which give much greater flexibility for how the money is used, including combining charitable and business purposes and lobbying for a favored cause—essentially what private individuals can but pure charities cannot do.

My Christmas Wish List: I Want to Be a Drug Company

This year, I have a particular request that I hope the man in the red suit can grant: I want to be a drug company.

Recent Social Security reform doesn’t fix unfair spousal benefits

The budget compromise forged by Congress and the Obama administration at the end of last month makes two fundamental changes in Social Security. Unfortunately, neither of these changes gets to the root issue: that spousal and survivor benefits are unfair, although the reform redefines who wins and who loses.

Mr. Speaker: Redefine Your Role

What if the expectations now placed on any Speaker of the House are so unreasonable that no one can meet them? What if the procedures of both the House and the Senate simply cannot meet modern legislative needs? Then we had best not place our hopes on the right person meeting wrong expectations.

Millennials: Today’s Underserved, Tomorrow’s Social Security and Medicare Bi-millionaires?

In a newly released study, Caleb Quakenbush and I find that a typical couple retiring today is scheduled to receive about $1 million in cash and health benefits; many millennials will receive $2 million or more. In effect, we’ve now scheduled many young adults to be future Social Security and Medicare bi-millionaires.