CBPP’s Positions on 2 Important Issues:

* Economy: In September 2013, CBPP called it “disappointing” that the Federal Reserve “will likely begin tapering off its asset purchases”—i.e., the so-called “quantitative easing” whereby the U.S. government was monetizing some $85 billion of its own debt each month with Treasury securities. At the same time, the Center—citing dire economic consequences—deemed it “absolutely appalling” that lawmakers had not averted the sequestrationbudget cuts of 2013. Notwithstanding CBPP’s complaints, however, those cuts amounted to a mere 2.4% of all federal spending that year.

* Social Security: CBPP describes Social Security, whose unfunded liabilities (for the next 75 years) currently stand at $9.6 trillion, as a program that “does not face an immediate [fiscal] crisis” but could experience “a funding shortfall two decades from now.” The Center is adamantly opposed to suggestions calling for the partial privatization of Social Security.

CBPP and the State Fiscal Analysis Initiative

* CBPP coordinates the State Fiscal Analysis Initiative, a network of state policy research organizations (in 29 states) that are committed “to rigorous policy analysis, responsible budget and tax policies, [with] a particular focus on the needs of low- and moderate-income families.” Member organizations include groups that regularly advocate increased government spending on environmental initiatives, higher wages for workers, and universal health care.