The long-term budget outlook: a CBO study

Original publisher: [Washington, D.C.] : Congress of the United States, Congressional Budget Office, [2005] OCLC Number: (OCoLC)70827363 Subject: Budget -- United States. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER ONE ECONOMIC AND FISCAL IMPLICATIONS OF FEDERAL BUDGETARY CHOICES OVER THE LONG RUN 3 Box 1-2. The Impact of Immigration on the Long-Term Budget Outlook Some analysts argue that the budgetary effects of the local government budgets taken together, because aging of the population could be alleviated by an those effects are most relevant to the impact on the increase in immigration. Immigrants pay a variety overall economy. However, the results are suggestive of taxes. However, their presence also tends to raise for federal finances as well. In some cases, the as-spending, because immigrants and their children sumptions that those analysts used to project spend-1 benefit from various government programs. ing and revenues far into the future differ from the assumptions that CBO uses in this study, so the Evaluating the net effect of immigration on the bud-results must be viewed with caution. Nevertheless, get is complicated by the fact that immigrants, on under the assumptions used in that research, two average, may differ from native-born people in a vari-main conclusions emerge: ety of ways. For example, immigrants tend to have lower incomes than native-born people do, so they Changes in rates of immigration - within reason-B may generate less tax revenue and receive more bene-able ranges - are unlikely to substantially offset fits from need-based programs such as Medicaid and the budgetary impact of the aging of the U.S. population and rising health care costs, if the aver-Food Stamps. They also tend to have more children than their native-born counterparts do - meaning age characteristics of immigrants remain as they that in the short run they may create more demand have been in the past. For example, studies suggest for public education and other programs aimed at that ...