In a just published piece, AEI economist and tax expert Alan Viard warns that the 2011 payroll tax holiday, which shaves 2 % points off workers’ Social Security tax rates, undermines historical practices and distorts federal budget priorities as it diverts $130 billion from the general treasury into the Social Security trust fund.

As budget negotiations between Democrats and Republicans stall, the possibility of a government shutdown on March 4 rapidly increases.

Resident scholar Alan D. Viard was one of the nominees for Tax Notes' annual "Person of the Year" award.

Recent events surrounding the proposed acquisitions of U.S. assets by foreign investors have brought into focus the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the Exon-Florio provisions of the Defense Production Act, which allow the executive branch to halt the acquisition by foreign firms of U.S. operations...

Voters seem to be rejecting the Obama Democrats' vast expansion of government, saying to leave the private sector alone so it can recover from the financial crisis recession and once again create bounteous and unscripted growth.

The debt limit, as currently defined, is meaningless. The limit does not need to be raised; it needs to be reformed.

Lindsey and Sumerlin offer a series of memos to get the next president up to speed before Inauguration Day.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 25, President Obama is expected to present a plan to improve the economy and reduce unemployment through competitiveness and innovation.