One of the more controversial provisions of the massive federal COVID relief American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is the prohibition against states offsetting tax cuts with federal bailout dollars. Many viewed these provisions as violations of basic principles of federalism, and the issue is being worked out in the courts. In general, the CEA is … Continue reading CEA Comments on Federal COVID Relief Rules
Column at RealClear Policy: Federal COVID Relief Imposes Truce in States’ Corporate Welfare Wars
In RealClear Policy, CEA President John C. Mozena and Mercatus Center Research Fellow Michael D. Farren explain how federal COVID relief for state budgets may end up creating a critical opportunity for economic development policy reform. A decade ago, then-Vice President Biden was caught on a live microphone describing the Affordable Care Act’s passage as … Continue reading Column at RealClear Policy: Federal COVID Relief Imposes Truce in States’ Corporate Welfare Wars
Op-Ed in The Hill: Congress could use bailouts to solve the interstate subsidy war
As Congress reconvenes to discuss another potential round of COVID-19 relief, CEA President John C. Mozena and Mercatus Center Research Fellow Michael D. Farren are in The Hill, discussing their proposal that the federal government require states to end their targeted economic development subsidy programs as a condition of receiving any federal budget bailouts: Congress … Continue reading Op-Ed in The Hill: Congress could use bailouts to solve the interstate subsidy war
Mercatus/CEA Paper: Federal Pandemic Relief Could End the Interstate Economic Development Arms Race
In a working paper published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Mercatus Research Fellow Michael Farren and Center for Economic Accountability President John Mozena propose that states be required to end targeted economic development subsidy programs as a condition of receiving any federal COVID-19 "bailout" of state finances. Farren and Mozena note that … Continue reading Mercatus/CEA Paper: Federal Pandemic Relief Could End the Interstate Economic Development Arms Race