April 15, 2020 |
Each year, CBO releases a set of four budget infographics that provide a detailed look at the past fiscal year as well as broader trends over the past few decades. Today, CBO published the latest infographics showing the federal budget results in fiscal year 2019.
These infographics help people understand how much the government spends and takes in each year and what programs and revenue sources account for the largest portions of those budgetary flows.
You can view the infographics for 2019 below, including an interactive version of the one about the overall federal budget:
The Federal Budget in 2019
Mandatory Spending in 2019
Discretionary Spending in 2019
Revenues in 2019
Infographics for fiscal years 2018 and 2017 are also available.
AUTHOR:Dan Ready is an analyst in CBO’s Budget Analysis Division.
Compliments of the Congressional Budget Office.

May 20, 2020 |
The Commission has proposed today country-specific recommendations (CSRs) providing economic policy guidance to all EU Member States in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, focused on the most urgent challenges brought about by the pandemic and on relaunching sustainable growth.
The recommendations are structured around two objectives: in the short-term, mitigating the coronavirus pandemic’s severe negative socio-economic consequences; and in the short to medium-term, achieving sustainable and inclusive growth which facilitates the green transition and the digital transformation.
A refocussed European Semester package
The Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy outlined the Commission’s growth strategy, based on promoting competitive sustainability to build an economy that works for people and the planet. With the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis this remains of utmost importance. The recommendations cover the four dimensions of competitive sustainability – stability, fairness, environmental sustainability and competitiveness – and also place a specific emphasis on health. The recommendations also reflect the Commission’s commitment to integrating the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals into the European Semester as they offer an integrated framework encompassing public health, social, environmental and economic concerns.
The recommendations cover areas such as investing in public health and resilience of the health sector, preserving employment through income support for affected workers, investing in people and skills, supporting the corporate sector (in particular small and medium-sized enterprises) and taking action against aggressive tax planning and money laundering. Recovery and investment must go hand-in-hand, reshaping the EU economy faced with the digital and green transitions.
The fiscal CSRs this year are qualitative, departing from the budgetary requirements that would normally apply. They reflect the activation of the general escape clause, recommending that Member States take all necessary measures to effectively address the pandemic, sustain the economy and support the ensuing recovery. When economic conditions allow, fiscal policies should aim at achieving prudent medium term fiscal positions and ensuring debt sustainability, while enhancing investment.
Monitoring fiscal developments
The Commission has also adopted reports under Article 126(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU for all Member States except Romania, which is already in the corrective arm of the Pact.
The Commission is required to prepare these reports for Member States that are themselves planning – for reasons related to the coronavirus – or are forecast by the Commission, to breach the 3% deficit limit in 2020. The reports for France, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Spain also assess these Member States’ compliance with the debt criterion in 2019, based on confirmed data validated by Eurostat.
These reports take into account the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on national public finances. In light of the exceptional uncertainty related to the extraordinary macroeconomic and fiscal impact of the pandemic, the Commission considers that at this juncture a decision on whether to place Member States under the excessive deficit procedure should not be taken.
Next steps
A coordinated European economic response is crucial to relaunch economic activity, mitigate damage to the economic and social fabric, and to reduce divergences and imbalances. The European Semester of economic and employment policy coordination therefore constitutes a crucial element of the recovery strategy.
Against this background, the Commission calls on the Council to adopt these country-specific recommendations and on Member States to implement them fully and in a timely manner.
Members of the College said:
Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People, said: “The Coronavirus has hit us like an asteroid and left a crater-shaped hole in the European economy. This Spring semester package has been recast and streamlined to provide guidance to our Member States as they navigate their way through the storm. For this immediate phase, our focus is on investing in public health and protecting jobs and companies. As we shift to the recovery, the Semester will be essential in providing a coordinated approach to put our economies back on the track to sustainable and inclusive growth – no one should be left behind. We also need reforms to improve productivity and the business environment. Once conditions allow, we will need to strike a balance between achieving fiscal sustainability while also stimulating investment.”
Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, said: “Supporting workers, reinforcing social protection, fighting inequalities and guaranteeing people the right to develop their skills will be top priorities for our economic response to the crisis, as well as to ensure inclusive green and digital transitions. We can only achieve this together. The European Pillar of Social Rights remains our compass in these endeavours. The post-coronavirus recovery must foster resilience and upward convergence by putting people at the centre.”
Paolo Gentiloni Commissioner for Economy, said: “The coronavirus pandemic and the necessary containment measures have dealt a brutal blow to Europe’s economies. These recommendations reflect that unprecedented situation. The priorities today are to strengthen our healthcare, support our workers, save our businesses. Yet the challenges we faced before this crisis have not gone away. So as we look to the future, our investment and reform objectives must remain focused on making a success of the green and digital transitions and ensuring social fairness. That also means everyone must pay their share: there can be no place for aggressive tax planning in a Europe of solidarity and fairness.”
Surveillance reports for Greece, Spain and Cyprus
The Commission adopted the sixth enhanced surveillance report for Greece. The report concludes that, considering the extraordinary circumstances posed by the Coronavirus outbreak, Greece has taken the necessary actions to achieve its due specific reform commitments.
The Commission has also adopted the post-programme surveillance reports for Spain and Cyprus.
Further Information
European Semester 2020 Spring Package: Questions and answersFactsheet: European Semester Spring PackageCommunication on the country-specific recommendationsCountry-specific recommendationsReports under Article 126(3)Sixth enhanced surveillance report for GreecePost-programme surveillance report for SpainPost-programme surveillance report for CyprusEuropean Semester 2020: Country reportsSpring 2020 Economic ForecastStability and Growth PactMacroeconomic imbalance procedureThe European Semester
Compliments of the European Commission.

May 12, 2020 |
Composite leading indicators (CLIs) in most major economies collapsed by unprecedented levels in April as containment measures for Covid-19 continued to have a severe impact on production, consumption and confidence. 
In China, however, where containment measures have already been eased, the CLI for the industrial sector is tentatively pointing towards a positive change in momentum, with April’s CLI and a large upward revision for March both pushing the CLI upwards. Some care is needed in interpretation, as only partial information is currently available for China in April.
CONTINUE READING…
Compliments of the OECD.

May 14, 2020 |
Financial circumstances were generally positive for most adults at the end of 2019. However, the Federal Reserve Board’s latest Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households, Featuring Supplemental Data from April 2020, found that financial conditions changed dramatically for people who experienced job loss or reduced hours during March 2020 as the spread of COVID-19 intensified in the United States.
The report draws from the Board’s seventh annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), which examines the economic well-being and financial lives of U.S. adults and their families. The 2019 survey of over 12,000 adults was conducted in October of last year, offering a picture of personal finances prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. To obtain updated information in the midst of closures and stay-at-home orders, a smaller supplemental survey of just over 1,000 adults was conducted from April 3 to April 6 of this year, focusing on labor market effects and households’ overall financial circumstances at that time.
In April 2020, fewer adults reported that they were at least doing okay financially than had been the case 6 months earlier. The April supplemental survey showed that 72 percent of adults were either “doing okay” financially (43 percent) or “living comfortably” (29 percent). This is down from the 75 percent of adults who were at least doing okay financially and the 36 percent who were living comfortably in the fall of 2019.
“A clearer understanding of how families are coping with the changed economic landscape is vital as the Federal Reserve considers next steps to address fallout from the pandemic,” said Governor Michelle W. Bowman. “The survey data show that early in the public health crisis, a larger fraction of Americans were facing financial hardship than in the fall of 2019.”
The declines in self-reported financial well-being were concentrated among those who lost a job or had their work hours cut. Among adults not experiencing a job loss or reduction in hours, 76 percent were at least okay financially in April, which is similar to the overall share of adults who reported being at least okay financially in the fall. Among those who experienced a job loss or hours reduction, however, 51 percent indicated that they were doing at least okay financially in April, whereas 48 percent were “finding it difficult to get by” or “just getting by.”
Thirteen percent of adults, representing 20 percent of people who had been working in February, reported that they lost a job or were furloughed in March or the beginning of April 2020. Another 6 percent of all adults saw their hours reduced or took unpaid leave. Taken together, 19 percent of all adults reported either losing a job or experiencing a reduction in work hours in March. Despite these widespread employment losses, some people took on new or additional employment in March. Seven percent of adults reported that they increased their hours worked or worked overtime.
Many people who lost a job remained connected to their employer and expected to return to the same job eventually. Nine in 10 people who were furloughed or lost a job said that their employer indicated that they would return to their job at some point. In general, however, people were not told specifically when to expect to return to work. Seventy-seven percent said that their employer told them to expect to return, but did not give them a return date.
Consistent with the employment declines in March, many people experienced income declines. Twenty-three percent of all adults, and 70 percent of those who lost a job or had their hours reduced, said their income in March was lower than in February.
Income losses can affect people’s ability to pay regular monthly bills. Eighty-one percent of adults said they could pay all the current month’s bills in full in April, compared to 84 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. Yet, the survey found far greater rates of difficulty among those experiencing employment disruptions. Sixty-four percent of adults who reported a job loss or reduction in hours expected to be able to pay all their bills in full in April, compared to 85 percent of those without an employment disruption.
In addition to monitoring how households were faring near the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report also highlights continuing financial concerns for many households that predated the public health crisis. Some of these financial challenges include the 25 percent of non-retired adults who lack retirement savings, the 18 percent of adults with outstanding debt from medical treatments, and the 3 percent of people who do not own their home who experienced an eviction in 2018 or 2019. Three in 10 adults in 2019 said they could not cover three months of expenses using their savings or borrowing in the case of a job loss, indicating that they were not prepared for the current financial challenges.
Results from the full survey reflect financial conditions in late 2019 before the pandemic’s onset, and results from the supplemental survey reflect financial conditions at the beginning of April 2020 and indicate the nature of families’ experiences of financial conditions at that time. However, the financial repercussions from COVID-19 continue to evolve, and the Federal Reserve Board will continue to monitor the financial conditions of households.
The report, downloadable data, and a video summarizing the survey’s findings may be found at: https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm.
Compliments of the Federal Reserve Board.

May 19, 2020 |
The Commission has mobilised another €122 million from its research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020, for urgently needed research into the coronavirus. The new call for expressions of interest contributes to the Commission’s €1.4 billion pledge to the Coronavirus Global Response initiative, launched by President Ursula von der Leyen on 4 May 2020.
The new call is the latest addition to a range of EU-funded research and innovation actions to fight the coronavirus. It complements earlier actions to develop diagnostics, treatments and vaccines by strengthening capacity to manufacture and deploying readily available solutions in order to rapidly address the pressing needs. It will also improve understanding of the behavioural and socio-economic impacts of the epidemic.
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “We are mobilising all means at our disposal to fight this pandemic with testing, treatments and prevention. But to succeed against the coronavirus, we must also understand how it impacts our society and how to best deploy these interventions rapidly. We must explore technological solutions to manufacture medical equipment and supplies faster, to monitor and prevent the spread of the disease, and to better care for patients.”
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, added: “We are supporting the health authorities, healthcare professionals and the general public in all Member States in tackling the coronavirus crisis. To this end, we are deploying innovative technologies and tools that can quickly be used to prevent, optimally treat, and recover from this pandemic and prepare for its aftermath. These include digital solutions and technologies such as telemedicine, data, AI, robotics, and photonics.”   
The projects funded under this call should repurpose manufacturing for rapid production of vital medical supplies and equipment needed for testing, treatment and prevention, as well as develop medical technologies and digital tools to improve detection, surveillance and patients care. New research will learn from large groups of patients (cohorts) across Europe and better understanding of the behavioural and socio-economic impacts of the coronavirus epidemic could help improve treatment and prevention strategies.
The deadline for submission is 11 June 2020, while the call will focus on delivering results quickly. Europe, and the world at large, urgently need innovative solutions to contain and mitigate the outbreak, and to better care for patients, survivors, vulnerable groups, frontline health care staff and their communities. This is why the Commission aims to enable research work to start as quickly as possible through shorter timelines for the preparation of expressions of interest and for their evaluation.
The new solutions need to be available and affordable for all, in line with the principles of the Coronavirus Global Response. For this purpose, the Commission will include rapid data-sharing clauses in grant agreements, resulting from this new call, to ensure that findings and outcomes can be put to use immediately.
Background
This new special call under Horizon 2020 complements earlier actions to support 18 projects with €48.2 million to develop diagnostics, treatments, vaccines and preparedness for epidemics, as well as the €117 million invested in 8 projects on diagnostics and treatments through the Innovative Medicines Initiative, and measures to support innovative ideas through the European Innovation Council. It implements Action 3 of the ERAvsCorona Action Plan, a working document resulting from dialogues between the Commission services and national institutions.
The new call will cover five areas with the following indicative budgets:
1. Repurposing of manufacturing for vital medical supplies and equipment (€23 million)
2. Medical technologies, Digital tools and Artificial Intelligence analytics to improve surveillance and care at high Technology Readiness Levels (€56 million)
3. Behavioural, social and economic impacts of the outbreak responses (€20 million)
4. Pan-European COVID-19 cohorts (€20 million)
5. Collaboration of existing EU and international cohorts of relevance to COVID-19 (€3 million)
Cohort studies typically observe large groups of individuals, recording their exposure to certain risk factors to find clues as to the possible causes of disease. They can be prospective studies and gather data going forward, or retrospective cohort studies, which look at data already collected.
Compliments of the European Commission.

Together with our members we are creating a Video series of first-hand accounts of the Pandemic’s impact, both personally & professionally.
We invite you to join us today for a first-hand look at the impact of the global shutdown following the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak – Today we are featuring Mika Koskinen , Consul General, Consulate General of Finland a EACCNY member.
The questions we asked our members for this series are:1) What are some challenges you, personally and your organization have faced?2) What are some of the most surprising (positive, innovative) responses/changes you have witnessed?3) How will this experience change us going forward, as a society and in terms of how we do business?

EACCNY has its finger on the pulse of how this worldwide pandemic is effecting companies and organizations on both sides of the Atlantic. EACC is where Americans & Europeans connect to do business.
Stay tuned for more on this series! We hope you enjoy these short vignettes our members and friends of the EACC created to share their experience.

May 18, 2020 |
The world is in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing Great Lockdown has pushed many countries into deep recessions—worse than during the 2008–09 global financial crisis. In response, governments and central banks all over the world have introduced strong discretionary (one-off and specific) fiscal and monetary measures to counteract the economic fallout caused by the spread of the coronavirus. Existing automatic stabilizers (such as income-based taxes and unemployment and household benefits), which differ across countries, have generally operated freely, providing some further cushion.
But with interest rates at record lows and public debts at historical highs in many countries, how can advanced economies best prepare for and respond to future downturns? Analysis in our recent World Economic Outlook completed before the pandemic looks at how advanced economies could build their resilience to negative shocks in such an environment. It finds that rules-based fiscal stimulus—where the stimulus is automatically triggered by deteriorating macroeconomic indicators—can be highly effective in countering a downturn under such conditions.
“Rules-based fiscal stimulus can be highly effective in countering a downturn.” 
A larger role for fiscal policy
With interest rates at or near zero in advanced economies, the scope for further conventional rate cuts is limited. But central banks may still use unconventional monetary policy tools more intensively—like large-scale asset purchases—to deliver additional support, as they have recently in response to the pandemic. However, relying on monetary policy alone to respond to shocks might not be enough and also raises questions about side effects on future financial stability and threats to central bank independence.
While keeping an eye on debt sustainability concerns over the long term, fiscal policy needs to play a larger role. Putting in place more automatic fiscal responses in advanced economies could help build their resilience to future adverse shocks. If rules for fiscal stimulus are well communicated and established before shocks occur, they can help shape expectations and reduce uncertainty, thereby dampening the drop in activity once a negative shock materializes.
A case for more automatic fiscal stimulus
Our study shows that rules-based fiscal stimulus measures—such as temporary targeted cash transfers to liquidity-constrained, low-income households that kick in when the unemployment rate rises above a certain threshold—could be highly effective in countering a downturn caused by a typical demand shortfall. Although these stimulus measures would be automatic, they are very different from traditional automatic stabilizers, which instead respond to an individual’s circumstances (for example, being laid-off in the case of unemployment insurance or lower incomes in the case of progressive income taxes). Rules-based fiscal stimulus is particularly effective when interest rates are at their effective lower bound (when rates cannot be cut further) and discretionary fiscal policy lags are long. Moreover, fiscal stimulus after demand shocks tend to be especially powerful when the economy has unemployed resources and monetary policy is accommodative.
When demand falls suddenly, the fall in output and rise in debt ratios are smaller when a rules-based fiscal stimulus is in place to support the economy. In fact, our findings suggest that when rules-based fiscal stimulus measures are adopted, economic downturns can be countered nearly as effectively as when monetary policy is able to operate at full strength. 
CONTINUE READING…
AUTHORS:
• John Bluedorn and Wenjie Chen
Compliments of the IMF.

May 14, 2020 |
• Request for subsidy ceilings and a real-time IT information system to distribute EU agriculture and cohesion funding more fairly and transparently
• More funding needed for the underfinanced Public Prosecutor’s Office to fight cross-border fraud
• The EESC’s and Council’s discharges postponed to remedy shortcomings before autumn
European Parliament granted discharge to the Commission and most other EU institutions, but called for the fight against conflict of interest to be strengthened.

The Parliament, voting on Wednesday by 499 votes in favour, 136 against and 56 abstentions, granted discharge of the Commission’s accounts for 2018 (covering 94% of the whole EU budget). In the accompanying resolution, adopted by 514 to 95 and 84 abstentions on Thursday, MEPs ask for even stronger protection of EU spending against fraud, corruption, conflict of interest, intentional misuse and organised crime, as well as for EU money to be distributed more fairly and transparently.
The European Parliament granted discharge for the year 2018, adopting 52 discharge reports and 52 accompanying resolutions – see vote results on reports (Wednesday), amendments to discharge resolutions (Thursday 1st voting session) and final votes on discharge resolutions (Thursday 2nd voting session).
Quote
“Today, Parliament sends a strong signal for more fairness and transparency in the distribution of EU subsidies, for the rule of law to be strengthened and for small and medium-sized farmers to be protected against land-grabbing, the misconduct of national authorities or pressure from criminal structures. We need new laws that stop oligarch structures from drawing on EU funds to enrich a few individuals. EU funds are taxpayers’ money and are intended to benefit the majority of citizens. Therefore, we call for a cap on the maximum amount that one person can receive as beneficial owner in the area of agriculture and cohesion”, said the rapporteur for the Commission discharge, Monika Hohlmeier (EPP, DE), after the vote.
Subsidy ceilings and IT system to protect EU funds from oligarchs
To avoid fraud and an uneven distribution of EU subsidies, the Commission should propose a maximum amount of direct payment per natural person, making it impossible for an individual to receive subsidies of hundreds of millions of euros during one MFF-period.
MEPs also ask for a real-time IT information system on payments of the EU agriculture and cohesion funds to be established, including information on individuals who are the final beneficiaries, and, in the meantime, ask for the EP to be informed who the fifty largest EU fund recipients across the EU are.
Mechanism to help farmers fight organised crime
Quoting cases in Italy and Slovakia, the Parliament wants an EU complaint mechanism enabling farmers to inform the Commission when land-grabbing malpractice, misconduct of national authorities, pressure from organised crime and forced labour occur.
Rule out conflict of interest
MEPs ask the Commission to table guidelines to fight conflicts of interest of high-profile politicians and ask the Council to adopt common ethical standards in this regard. MEPs are especially concerned about the situation in Czechia and ask the Commission to supervise payments to companies directly and indirectly owned by the Czech Prime Minister.
Enable the EU Prosecutor to do their job
The resolution stresses that the newly created EU Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) needs at least 76 additional posts and EUR 8 Million in order to deal with an estimated 3000 cases per year.
No EU money if rule of law is violated
MEPs insist that the draft regulation enabling EU funds to be restricted for EU countries where the rule of law is violated should be swiftly approved. This regulation is currently blocked in the Council.
European Economic and Social Committee: address shortcomings before autumn
By 669 votes to 10 and 11 abstentions, MEPs voted to postpone the discharge decision for the European Economic and Social Committee, giving it until September 2020 to follow up on OLAF’s recommendations to improve its code of conduct and to swiftly solve alleged problems related to harassment.
New initiative for cooperation on the Council discharge
For the tenth year in row, MEPs postponed discharge to the Council by 643 votes to 37 and 11 abstentions, giving it until the autumn to supply the information requested by the Parliament.
MEPs have launched a new initiative to solve issues surrounding the annual discharge for the Council, as requested by the Treaties. With an EP negotiating team in place and the outcome of negotiations pending, MEPs postponed the discharge for the year 2018.
Compliments of the European Parliament.