Facing the Future

This week on Facing the Future former U.S Representative Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA) discussed key differences between state and federal budgeting and whether there are lessons for federal policymakers. We also got some timely insights from University of Maryland professor of public policy Phil Joyce on whether the 50-year old federal budget process is up to dealing with the nation’s fiscal challenges. Later in the show, Concord Coalition Chief Economist Steve Robinson joined me to assess the Fiscal Year 2024 year-end numbers as reported by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and a new CBO report on trends in the distribution of family wealth.

This week on Facing the Future Rachel Snyderman of the Bipartisan Policy Center and Concord Coalition National Field Director Phil Smith describe the unprecedented size of our projected deficits and debt which add to the challenges that await the new president and Congress in 2025.

This week on Facing the Future, we'll talk with Ben Ritz, Vice President of Policy Development at the Progressive Policy Institute, about a comprehensive plan his organization released in July to greatly improve the nation's fiscal outlook by cutting costs, raising revenues and growing the economy.

This week on Facing the Future we focused on the economy and previewed the 2025 tax debate when key provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) are scheduled to expire at the end of the year. We also discussed some new tax proposals that have been floated on the campaign trail. 

Our guest was Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President of the American Action Forum and former Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Concord Coalition chief economist Steve Robinson joined the conversation.

This week on Facing the Future, Dr. Kent Smetters of the Penn Wharton Budget Model at the University of Pennsylvania will give us his nonpartisan analysis of the budgetary, economic and distributional effects of the Harris and Trump campaign policy proposals. Also, Steve Robinson discusses new long-term projections for Social Security.

This week on Facing the Future, Josh Gordon, Director of Health Policy at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), joined the show to discuss healthcare spending, prescription drug prices, and more. At CRFB, Gordon heads the Health Savers Initiative.Concord Coalition Chief Economist Steve Robinson joined the healthcare conversation, and later discussed his new issue brief entitled Means Testing Federal Benefits and Tax Expenditures.

This week on Facing the Future, Bob is joined by Bill Gale, Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution. A well respected expert in the subject of debt and taxes, Gale recently wrote a piece for Brookings called Back to the Future: Can the Government Reduce Its Debt Again? which discussed the future of federal debt management in the United States. Later in the show, David Lerman, writer of CQ Rollcall’s budget newsletter previewed the important appropriations and spending decisions that await Congress when it returns from summer recess in September. Concord Coalition Chief Economist Steve Robinson joined both conversations.

This week on Facing the Future we celebrated Social Security’s birthday. Wednesday, August 14th marked 89 years since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. Bob and Concord Coalition Chief Economist Steve Robinson assessed Social Security’s accomplishments, future challenges, and some myths about reform. Later in the show, former U.S. Senator from Indiana Dan Coats shared his experience with the debt and deficit through the lens of a long and distinguished career of public service in the federal government.

This week on Facing the Future, Bob Bixby switched from the host chair to the guest seat to talk about  his 25-year career as Executive Director of The Concord Coalition. National Field Director Phil Smith asked Bob questions about the importance of the federal budget, the fiscal outlook, and The Concord Coalition over the years. Later in the show, Phil interviewed two of our Fiscal Lookout volunteers, Kevin Wiley of Indiana and Erik Carter of New York, about the work of political depolarization and engaging their communities in fiscal issues.