Matthew Dickerson

1 week ago | epicforamerica.org | Amelia Kuntzman |Sarah Wagoner |Matthew Dickerson |David Ditch

Tax Day: the United States federal government collects trillions of hard-earned dollars and Americans walk away feeling that the system is rigged. According to a Pew Research survey, 61% of Americans say they feel that some rich people do not pay their fair share in taxes. Do lower income brackets take a hit while the rich get off easy? The 2021 tax data from the Congressional Budget Office appears to tell a different story.

2 weeks ago | epicforamerica.org | David Ditch |Matthew Dickerson

For most of America’s history, national defense was the largest part of the federal budget. This is no longer the case as “autopilot” spending now consumes a majority of tax dollars and an unsustainably growing share of the economy. More disturbingly, a single aspect of autopilot spending – interest on the national debt –exceeded defense spending in fiscal year 2024.

3 weeks ago | epicforamerica.org | David Ditch |Matthew Dickerson

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has published a new report, The Long-Term Budget Outlook: 2025 to 2055. Using a “baseline” that assumes federal spending broadly follows trends while tax policy follows statute – a practice biased in favor of spending – CBO makes projections regarding key budgetary benchmarks. The picture it paints about America’s future is nothing short of bleak.

1 month ago | epicforamerica.org | David Ditch |Matthew Dickerson

As America’s citizens and legislators consider how to address the federal government potentially hurtling over the fiscal cliff, it is urgent to examine where Washington funnels public resources. One such area is federal aid to state and local governments. A multitude of federal programs and bureaus exist to funnel tax dollars to other levels of government.

1 month ago | epicforamerica.org | David Ditch |Matthew Dickerson |Paul Winfree |Brian Blase

Congress is weighing reforms to Medicaid with a goal of saving up to $880 billion as part of the budgetary reconciliation process. Left-leaning legislators have decried the potential Medicaid savings as “deep cuts” or “eviscerating” the program. In reality, Medicaid spending would still increase – just by a smaller amount. This is a perfect example of “Washington Math” which assumes that all types of government spending increase every year.