As I mentioned in a previous post, behavioral economics seems to have advanced substantially in influencing policymakers in the UK. For some recent commentary on that phenomenon, see this article from the Sunday Times and this comment on the article. The comment notes that "The Sunday Times is very good at spotting intellectual trends. When they print an entire piece on some new thinking, it is an important sign that a change is taking place."
CBO Blog
On Friday I participated in a briefing sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on the effects of health IT. The video from the event is posted here .
CBO issued a letter today reviewing options to offset price increases experienced by low- and moderate-income households under a cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide emissions.
I delivered testimony today before the Senate Finance Committee on CBO's long-term budget outlook and options for slowing the growth of health care costs. Under any plausible scenario, the federal budget is on an unsustainable paththat is, federal debt will grow much faster than the economy over the long run.
Today I am speaking at the Prepare For Launch Health Reform Summit of the Senate Finance Committee. My statement is available here. Key points from my statement are below:
CBO has issued a cost estimate for the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on May 20. CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would increase revenues by about $8.0 billion over the 2009-2018 period, net of income and payroll tax offsets. Over that period, we estimate that direct spending from those proceeds would total about $7.2 billion.
Every year in response to a Congressional directive, the Department of the Navy issues reports that describe its plans for ship construction over a 30-year period. In the report released in February 2006, the Navy presented its fiscal year 2007 plan, which called for expanding its fleet from 285 battle force ships in 2006 to 313 by 2020 and beyond. In May 2006, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a study analyzing that plan and estimating its potential costs.
CBO released a new Monthly Budget Review today. During the first eight months of fiscal year 2008, CBO estimates that the federal government incurred a deficit of $317 billion, $168 billion more than the shortfall recorded through May of last year. About $50 billion of that change is due to the distribution of the tax rebates enacted in the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008.
RAND researchers recently sent me a letter and an attachment , which they have circulated to others, commenting on CBOs analysis of a recent RAND health IT study. Our analysis is summarized here and the full analysis is here .
CBO has a team of runners in Saturday's National Race for the Cure. Here's the CBO team photo from today:
