The Road to Freedom (28 page)

22
Timothy Conley and Bill Dupor, “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Public Sector Jobs Saved, Private Sector Jobs Forestalled,” May 17, 2011,
http://web.econ.ohio-state.edu/dupor/arra10_may11.pdf

23
For a sample of the literature, see Y. Algan, P. Cahuc, and A. Zylberberg, “Public Employment and Labor Market Preferences,”
Economic Policy
(2002): 1–65; T. Conley and B. Dupor, “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Public Sector Jobs Saved, Private Sector Jobs Forestalled,” May 2001,
http://web.econ.ohio-state.edu/dupor/arra10_may11.pdf
; J. Malley and T. Moutos, “Government Employment and Unemployment: With One Hand Giveth, The Other Taketh,” University of Glasgow Working Paper Series no. 9709, May 1998.

24
Department of Energy. September 4, 2009. Available at
http://energy.gov/articles/vice-president-biden-announces-finalized-535-million-loan-guarantee-solyndra
.

25
Barack Obama, “Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects,” Executive Order, February 6, 2009; David G. Tuerck, Sarah Glassman, and Paul Bachman, “Project Labor Agreements on Federal Construction Projects: A Costly Solution in Search of a Problem,”
The Beacon Hill Institute Policy Study
, August 2009.

26
Joe Nocera, “How Democrats Hurt Jobs,”
New York Times
, August 22, 2011,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/opinion/nocera-how-democrats-hurt-job-creation.html

27
Christopher Hinton, “NLRB drops case against Boeing over S.C. facility,” MarketWatch, December 9, 2011,
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nlrb-drops-case-against-boeing-over-sc-facility-2011-12-09

28
Congressional Budget Office,
The Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update
, August 2011, 5,
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/123xx/doc12316/Update_SummaryforWeb.pdf
). See also
The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2011 through 2021
, January 2011, 134,
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/123xx/doc12316/Update_SummaryforWeb.pdf
). See also
The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2011 through 2021
, January 2011, 134,
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/120xx/doc12039/01-26_FY2011Outlook.pdf

29
Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff, “Growth in a Time of Debt,” NBER Working Paper, January 2010,
http://www.nber.org/papers/w15639

30
Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update.

31
Author's calculation. The U.S. deficit for fiscal year 2011 is $1.3 trillion dollars and the current population of the United States is 312,815,221 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

32
Dana Blanton, “Fox News poll: 79% Say U.S. Economy Could Collapse,”
FoxNews.com
, March 23, 2010,
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/23/fox-news-poll-say-economy-collapse/#ixzz1hHcXd2Cq

33
Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update. This is based on fiscal year 2011.

34
Author's calculation using Congressional Budget Office, Long-Term Budget Outlook, June 2011, Alternative Fiscal Scenario,
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12212

35
Ibid.

36
Andrew G. Biggs, Kevin A. Hassett, and Matthew Jensen, “A Guide for Deficit Reduction in the United States Based on Historical Consolidations That Worked,” AEI Economic Policy Working Paper, December 27, 2010,
http://www.aei.org/paper/100179

37
Ibid.

38
Daniel Leigh, Pete Devries, Charles Freedman, Jaime Guajardo, and Andrea Pescatori, “Will It Hurt? Macroeconomic Effects of Fiscal Consolidation,”
World Economic Outlook: Recovery, Risk, and Rebalancing
(International Monetary Fund, 2010).

39
“The Moment of Truth: Report of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform,” December 2010,
http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/TheMomentofTruth12_1_2010.pdf
.

40
J. Monke and R. Johnson,
Actual Farm Bill Spending and Cost Estimates
(Congressional Research Service, December 13, 2010).

41
Energy Information Administration, “Federal Financial Interventions and Subsidies in Energy Markets 2007,” April 2008,
ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov
/service/srcneaf%282008%2901.pdf

42
“The Moment of Truth: Report of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform,” December 2010; Paul Ryan, “The Path to Prosperity,” April 2011; Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Resolution,
http://budget.house.gov/UploadedFiles/PathToProsperityFY2012.pdf

43
“The Moment of Truth: Report of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform,” December 2010; Paul Ryan, “The Path to Prosperity,” April 2011.

44
C. Eugene Steuerle and Stephanie Rennane, “Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Benefits Over a Lifetime,” Urban Institute, June 2011,
http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/social-security-medicare-benefits-over-lifetime.pdf

45
Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, “A summary of the 2011 Annual Reports,”
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/oact/trsum/index.html
.

46
Ibid.

47
Author's calculation using Congressional Budget Office, 2001 Long-Term Budget Outlook Alternative Fiscal Scenario,
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12212

48
U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, “Annual Statistical Supplement, 2010,” “Table 3.E2—Number and percentage of poor persons, by age, at end of selected years 1959–2008,”
http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2010/3e.html#table3.e2

49
Update 2011, Social Security Administration, October 2010,
http://ssa.gov/pubs/10003.pdf

50
The 2011 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds
, Table V.A4, “Cohort Life Expectancy,”
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2011/lr5a4.html

51
Ibid.

52
Solvency provision, Social Security Administration,
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/solvency/provisions/charts/chart_run466.html

53
Author's calculations based on Social Security Administration's solvency provision proposals:
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/solvency/provisions/charts/chart_run375.html
;
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/solvency/provisions/charts/chart_run211.html
;
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/solvency/provisions/charts/chart_run383.html

54
See Joseph Antos, Andrew Biggs, Alex Brill, and Alan D. Viard, “Fiscal Solutions: A Balanced Plan for Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth,” Peter G. Peterson Foundation Solutions Initiative, May 25, 2011,
http://pgpf.org/Issues/Fiscal-Outlook/2011/01/20/~/media/6A83826740A94DBE91CCA557ECA1D36F

55
U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Retirement and Disability Policy “Annual Statistical Supplement, 2010,” “Table 3.E2—Number and percentage of poor persons, by age, at end of selected years 1959–2008,”
http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2010/3e.html#table3.e2

56
Author's calculations based on Paul Van de Water and Arloc Sherman, “Social Security Keeps 20 Million Americnas Out of Poverty: A State-by-State
Analysis,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 11, 2010,
http://www.cbpp.org/files/8-11-10socsec.pdf

57
“2011 Annual Report of the Boards of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds,”
http://www.cms.gov/ReportsTrustFunds/downloads/tr2011.pdf

58
Kaiser Family Foundation
Statehealthfacts.org
, “United States: Federal and State Share of Medicaid Spending, FY2009,”
http://statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?ind=177&cat=4&sub=47&yr=90&typ=4&sort=a&rgnhl=4

59
“Medicaid Enrollment as a Percent of Total Population,” The Public Policy Institute of New York State, Inc.,
http://www.ppinys.org/reports/2010/innovation/MedicaidEnrollment.html
; “Federal and State Share of Medicaid Spending,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation,
http://statehealthfacts.org/comparetable.jsp?ind=636&cat=4&sub=47&yr=90&typ=4
; United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, “State Fact Sheets: New York,” updated September 14, 2011,
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Statefacts/NY.HTM

60
“2011 Annual Report of the Boards of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds,”
http://www.cms.gov/ReportsTrustFunds/downloads/tr2011.pdf

61
Congressional Budget Office, “CBO's 2011 Long Term Budget Outlook,” June 2011,
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12212

62
Thomas P. Miller and James Capretta, “Beyond Repeal and Replace: The Defined Contribution Route to Health Care Choice and Competition,” AEI Press, 2010,
http://www.aei.org/docLib/Defined-Contribution-Route-to-Health-Care-Choice.pdf

63
Matt Moon, “How Do Americans Feel About Taxes Today?” Tax Foundation Special Report No. 166, April 2009,
http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/sr166.pdf
.

64
Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, Table 11-0173, “Tax Units with Zero or Negative Tax Liability, 2004–2011,”
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/Content/PDF/T11-0173.pdf

65
Scott A. Hodge, “Accounting for What Families Pay in Taxes and What They Receive in Government Spending,” Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact No. 189, September 21, 2009,
http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/25195.html

66
National Taxpayer Advocate Annual Report to Congress, December 31, 2010,
http://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/files/ExecSummary_2010ARC.pdf

67
Ibid.

68
OECD Tax Database,
www.oecd.org/ctp/taxdatabase
. Even more important, the U.S. average marginal tax rate is also well above the mean for the countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Aparna Mathur, “Race to the Top of the Laffer Curve,”
American.com
, February 16, 2011,
http://www.american.com/archive/2011/february/race-to-the-top-of-the-laffer-curve

69
Arthur Laffer, “The Laffer Curve: Past, Present, and Future,” Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #1765, June 1, 2004,
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2004/06/The-Laffer-Curve-Past-Present-and-Future

70
Kevin Hassett, “Laffer Curve Pays Billions If Obama Just Asks,”
Bloomberg.com
, February 13, 2011,
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-02-13/laffer-curve-pays-billions-if-obama-just-asks-kevin-hassett.html
; Alex Brill and Kevin A. Hassett, “Revenue-Maximizing Corporate Income Taxes: The Laffer Curve in OECD Countries,” AEI Working Paper #137, July 31, 2007.

71
Matthew H. Jensen and Aparna Mathur, “Corporate Tax Burden on Labor: Theory and Empirical Evidence,”
Tax Notes
, June 6, 2011,
http://www.aei.org/docLib/Tax-Notes-Mathur-Jensen-June-2011.pdf

72
Most economists believe that we are not on the wrong side of the Laffer curve for personal income taxes. However, we are taxing citizens at a level that compromises savings and thus economic growth.

73
Dylan Matthews, “Where does the Laffer curve bend?”
Washingtonpost.com
, August 9, 2010,
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/08/where_does_the_laffer_curve_be.html

74
This refers to Title 26 of the US Code of Federal Regulations and Title 26 of the United States Code. See
http://bookstore.gpo.gov/baskets/cfr-listing.jsp
.

75
Small Business Taxes & Management Special Report, “Expiring Tax Provisions 2009–2020,”
http://www.smbiz.com/sbspec324.html

76
Joint Committee on Taxation, “Estimates of Federal Tax Expenditures for Fiscal Years 2010–2014,” JCS-3-10, December 15, 2010,
http://www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=startdown&id=3718
.

77
Ibid.

78
See President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform,
Simple, Fair, and Pro-Growth: Proposals to Fix America's Tax System
(Government Printing Office, 2005), 183. The Progressive Consumption Tax plan did not receive the consensus support from panel members required for it to be officially recommended by the panel. Bracket endpoints are in 2006 dollars; 2012 values would be roughly 15 percent higher. One of the most compelling consumption tax options today is what economists call the Bradford “X tax,” named for Princeton economist David Bradford, which is a flat tax on businesss income, plus a mildly progressive tax on private wages. For a more detailed description of the X Tax, see Robert Carroll, Scott Ganz, and Alan D. Viard, “The X Tax: The Progressive Consumption Tax America Needs?” AEI Tax Policy Outlook, December 2008; and Joseph Antos, Andrew Biggs, Alex Brill and Alan D. Viard, “Fiscal Solutions: A Balanced Plan for Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth,” Peterson Foundation Solutions Initiative, May 25, 2011.