Empowering the Next President


 

Publication Date: April 2008

Publisher: Tax Policy Center

Author(s): C. Eugene Steuerle

Research Area: Economics

Keywords: Economy; Federal Budgets & Fiscal Policy; Tax Policy; Taxes and Social Programs

Type: Report

Abstract:

What if President William Howard Taft and his Congress had written laws that specified how all the government?s revenues at the beginning of the 21st century were to be spent? Preposterous? Well, the laws on the books today not only dictate how all revenues collected in 2030 and beyond will be spent, they also predetermine most of the next president?s spending. No wonder the campaign promises of the presidential candidates sound hollow.