Episodes
Friday Sep 20, 2024
A Radically Pragmatic Plan to Pay for Progress
Friday Sep 20, 2024
Friday Sep 20, 2024
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.
Thursday Sep 12, 2024
The Economy and the Campaign
Thursday Sep 12, 2024
Thursday Sep 12, 2024
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.
Thursday Sep 05, 2024
The Harris and Trump Budget Proposals
Thursday Sep 05, 2024
Thursday Sep 05, 2024
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.
Friday Aug 30, 2024
Is There Hope on Healthcare Costs?
Friday Aug 30, 2024
Friday Aug 30, 2024
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.
Thursday Aug 22, 2024
Appropriations Deadlines, Tax Changes, and The Debt
Thursday Aug 22, 2024
Thursday Aug 22, 2024
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.
Thursday Aug 15, 2024
Social Security's 89th Birthday
Thursday Aug 15, 2024
Thursday Aug 15, 2024
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.
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
Depolarization Needed for Debt Solutions
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
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.
Thursday Aug 01, 2024
Debt Solutions are Possible
Thursday Aug 01, 2024
Thursday Aug 01, 2024
This week on Facing the Future we’ll talk with Jeff Holland of the Peterson Foundation about a series of papers released last week called Solutions Initiative 2024. It features seven plans from prominent think tanks, including one from our second guest, Andrew Lautz of the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Friday Jul 26, 2024
Tax Policy on the Campaign Trail
Friday Jul 26, 2024
Friday Jul 26, 2024
This week on Facing the Future, we'll take a preliminary look at the tax policy proposals of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. In addition, we'll consider the tax policy implications of a case recently decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Our guest is Steven Rosenthal, senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
Thursday Jul 18, 2024
Should the Fed Cut Interest Rates?
Thursday Jul 18, 2024
Thursday Jul 18, 2024
This week on Facing the Future we'll look at whether the Fed has seen enough progress on inflation to begin cutting interest rates? Our guest is Gordon Gray, executive director of the Pinpoint Policy Institute. Then, we'll say farewell to frequent co-host Tori Gorman as she takes up a new job with the Congressional Research Service.