Janet Pack - Faculty Research in Knowledge@Wharton

Not With the Plan: State Budget Woes Create a Black Hole for U.S. Stimulus Funds

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:41:52 EST

From California to Connecticut, the global recession has squeezed state finances, forcing many state governments to slash services, raise taxes or find unusually creative ways to close the gap. According to experts, the widespread budget shortfalls -- expected to continue through at least 2011 -- threaten to put a drag on the nation's economic recovery and undermine President Obama's stimulus plan. "The states aren't really playing the game like Obama hoped they would," says one Wharton finance professor.

The Candidates on Taxes: Finding the Devil in the Details

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:03:03 EST

The two U.S. presidential candidates may paint themselves as agents for a new, more bipartisan attitude in Washington, but Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama both tend to adhere to their parties' usual approaches to tax policy. Obama proposes to raise taxes on the wealthy and reduce them for the middle class; McCain proposes to sustain the tax cuts enacted by the Bush administration. But neither candidate fully explains how they will pay the bills. This is the first in a series of articles from Knowledge@Wharton examining economic and fiscal policies proposed by the candidates.

Obama and McCain: Different -- and Evolving -- Visions for the U.S. Economy

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:56:24 EST

Presidential candidates John McCain, Republican senator from Arizona, and Barack Obama, Democratic senator from Illinois, are staking out contrasting positions, mostly along traditional party lines, in their campaign to win election in November as the 44^th president of the United States. One thing they have in common: Both offer tax and spending plans that would deepen the deficit. Wharton professors, as well as commentators from around the globe, weigh in on the economic views of each candidate.

The Living-wage Movement: Good Social Policy or Self-defeating?

Wed, 10 Nov 1999 13:08:34 EST

Earlier this fall, the city council in Tucson, Ariz., passed an ordinance requiring any company doing business with the city to pay their workers at least $8 an hour, well above the minimum wage of $5.15 an hour. In taking this action, Tucson became the 39th city in the U.S. to join the living-wage movement, a five-year-old initiative started by a coalition of religious, community and labor groups and based on the idea that anybody who works fulltime should be paid enough to stay above the poverty line. Supporters claim that these ordinances have a limited negative impact on businesses required to pay the higher wage, and that the living wage movement overall will lead to a more equal distribution of income in this country. Detractors respond that requiring businesses to pay more than the minimum wage will drive companies out of urban areas and/or cause layoffs of those same unskilled workers that the higher wages are designed to help. The debate goes on.