The cost and quality of the U.S. healthcare system is one of the most prominent issues facing everyday Americans. It is a top policy concern for voters, a key indicator of economic efficiency, and a significant driver of the national debt.
On the whole, the average retirement age has risen by 3 years since 1990, increasing from 62 to 65. Women, on average, tend to retire earlier than men, but women have seen a larger increase in average retirement age.
Rising inflation usually prompts higher interest rates, which in turn boost interest paid on the federal debt and thereby increase annual deficits, making the nation’s fiscal outlook worse.
Here we examine the President’s proposal to increase funding for the IRS in greater detail, analyze the extent to which more funding impacts tax compliance and the tax gap, and look at solutions that might improve the nation’s unsustainable fiscal outlook.
GAO projects that debt held by the public could more than double over the next 30 years — rising from around 100 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of fiscal year 2021 to 217 percent in 2050.
The words debt and deficit come up frequently in debates and conversations about the policy decisions that lawmakers face. The two concepts are similar, but are often confused.
Last year, lawmakers in the House introduced the Improving Medicare Coverage Act in an effort to make healthcare more affordable for older Americans by lowering the age of eligibility for Medicare from 65 to 60.
The federal government spent $90 billion on housing assistance in 2021, an increase of almost 70 percent from the preceding year, largely due to legislation enacted in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
