A brief for a general audience on why marginal tax rates — not total tax bills — are what shape behavior, and on new research using large language models to estimate the elasticity of taxable income. Some models reproduce human behavioral responses closely, while others prove far more tax-sensitive than real taxpayers, suggesting LLMs miss the real-world frictions that limit how quickly people can adjust their earnings.
Housing affordability in the United States is at its lowest point in four decades, and proposals to extend the standard mortgage to fifty years have drawn renewed attention. This column sets the politics aside and works through the economics: longer amortization trims the monthly payment only modestly, while raising total interest paid and slowing the accumulation of home equity. Extended terms do nothing to address the underlying shortage of three to four million homes.
Affordable Care Act marketplace tax credits have substantially expanded health insurance coverage in South Carolina, particularly among low-income and rural populations. Using county-level CMS marketplace enrollment data, Census Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, and state poverty statistics, we project how uninsured rates would move if the credits expire, and quantify the resulting costs to households, healthcare providers, and the state budget through increased reliance on emergency care and reduced local economic activity.