Brookings34%
Can AI restore fiscal sustainability in the US? 70%
By Ben Harris98% Neil R. Mehrotra97% William Overcash97%
7/1/2026, 10:00:38 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 9 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, False Dilemma, and Optimism Bias, with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 94.2% saturation with 131 hits. Analysis detected 409 faulty-reasoning hits from 139 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 63.5% and a BS Rank of 70% (5,082 of 16,813 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 69.80% of the article peer group.
AI-driven economic growth can meaningfully shrink fiscal deficits, but is unlikely to close the gap even in more optimistic scenarios.
A once-in-a-generation productivity shock could cut deficits by about 5 percentage points of GDP by 2036, but several factors specific to an AI shock could claw back more than half of those gains.
Five offsetting forces may blunt the benefit: Longer lifespans could raise old-age entitlement spending, displaced workers might strain income-support programs, income shifts from labor to capital might lower average tax rates, higher interest rates could potentially raise debt service costs, and an AI arms race could possibly lift defense spending.
GDP growth assumptions matter most.
Of all variables, the GDP growth rate has by far the largest effect on projected deficits, making AI’s macroeconomic impact the key uncertainty.
Confirmation Bias
0%Confirmation Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
4.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Anchoring Bias
20.1%Anchoring Bias
OverallThis article
20.1%AuthorBen Harris
14.6%PublicationBrookings
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Availability Heuristic
0%Availability Heuristic
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0%AuthorBen Harris
5.5%PublicationBrookings
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Representativeness Heuristic
0%Representativeness Heuristic
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Hindsight Bias
0%Hindsight Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Overconfidence Bias
16.5%Overconfidence Bias
OverallThis article
16.5%AuthorBen Harris
5.5%PublicationBrookings
2.6%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Framing Effect
5.8%Framing Effect
OverallThis article
5.8%AuthorBen Harris
1.9%PublicationBrookings
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Loss Aversion
0%Loss Aversion
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Status Quo Bias
0%Status Quo Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Sunk Cost Effect
0%Sunk Cost Effect
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Optimism Bias
23.7%Optimism Bias
OverallThis article
23.7%AuthorBen Harris
7.9%PublicationBrookings
3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Pessimism Bias
23.7%Pessimism Bias
OverallThis article
23.7%AuthorBen Harris
20.6%PublicationBrookings
1.7%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Negativity Bias
50.4%Negativity Bias
OverallThis article
50.4%AuthorBen Harris
28.8%PublicationBrookings
5.4%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Self-Serving Bias
0%Self-Serving Bias
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Fundamental Attribution Error
0%Fundamental Attribution Error
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Actor-Observer Bias
0%Actor-Observer Bias
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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In-Group Bias
0%In-Group Bias
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Out-Group Homogeneity Bias
0%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Halo Effect
0%Halo Effect
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Horn Effect
0%Horn Effect
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Dunning-Kruger Effect
0%Dunning-Kruger Effect
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Recency Bias
0%Recency Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Primacy Effect
0%Primacy Effect
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Blind-Spot Bias
0%Blind-Spot Bias
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Ad Hominem
0%Ad Hominem
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Straw Man
0%Straw Man
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Appeal to Authority
0%Appeal to Authority
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
3.8%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
False Dilemma
36%False Dilemma
OverallThis article
36%AuthorBen Harris
12%PublicationBrookings
1.8%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Slippery Slope
0%Slippery Slope
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
1.4%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Circular Reasoning
0%Circular Reasoning
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Hasty Generalization
0%Hasty Generalization
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
12%PublicationBrookings
5.3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Red Herring
0%Red Herring
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Bandwagon
0%Bandwagon
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Appeal to Emotion
0%Appeal to Emotion
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
2.2%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Begging the Question
0%Begging the Question
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
0.7%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Post Hoc (False Cause)
0%Post Hoc (False Cause)
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Tu Quoque
0%Tu Quoque
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Burden of Proof
0%Burden of Proof
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Appeal to Nature
0%Appeal to Nature
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Composition/Division
0%Composition/Division
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Anecdotal
0%Anecdotal
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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No True Scotsman
0%No True Scotsman
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Ambiguity (Equivocation)
23.7%Ambiguity (Equivocation)
OverallThis article
23.7%AuthorBen Harris
7.9%PublicationBrookings
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Gambler’s Fallacy
0%Gambler’s Fallacy
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Middle Ground
0%Middle Ground
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Personal Incredulity
0%Personal Incredulity
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0%AuthorBen Harris
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Special Pleading
0%Special Pleading
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Genetic Fallacy
0%Genetic Fallacy
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Unattributed Quote
0%Unattributed Quote
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Quote-first Misdirection
0%Quote-first Misdirection
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Biased Writer Voice
94.2%Biased Writer Voice
OverallThis article
94.2%AuthorBen Harris
31.4%PublicationBrookings
2.3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Indoctrination
0%Indoctrination
OverallThis article
0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Politically Left Leaning Bias
0%Politically Left Leaning Bias
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Politically Right Leaning Bias
0%Politically Right Leaning Bias
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0%AuthorBen Harris
0%PublicationBrookings
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Attempt to Sell a Product or Service
0%Attempt to Sell a Product or Service
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0%AuthorBen Harris
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139 words analyzed.
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.