Deficits
New Bipartisan Spending Deal Includes Billions More for Border Barriers, TSA, and Everything In Between
With the federal government $22 trillion in debt, Congress has decided to spend more money.
National Debt Hits a New Record High: $22 Trillion
A new record, but one that won't stand for long.
When it Comes To Debt, Politicians and Academics Are All Like, 'What, Me Worry?'
From OMB head Mick Mulvaney to former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, nobody cares about spending money we don't have on things we don't need. Big mistake.
What Was Missing From Trump's State of the Union? America's $1 Trillion Deficit
Or the $22 trillion (and counting) national debt. Or the entitlement programs that will continue adding to them.
CBO: Budget Deficit Numbers Are Better Than Expected, but We're Still Screwed
Unless we make some big changes, things won't get much better.
New Chinese App Lets Users ID Debtors Lurking Nearby
How would you like it if nearby strangers could instantly access your credit score on their phones?
Mitch McConnell Predicted the GOP Tax Cut Would Raise Revenue and Reduce the Deficit. Nope.
A year after the tax law, growth is up but tax revenue is down.
Increasing Top Tax Brackets Is Easier Than Increasing Revenue Over Time
Proponents of jacking top marginal income tax rates such as AOC ignore how hard it is to actually boost revenue over the long haul.
Most Americans Want Congress to Fix Budget Crisis, Increase Spending. Huh?
You can't have it both ways.
The National Debt Hit $22 Trillion at the End of 2018
Growth alone won't get us out of this mess.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wants Democrats to Drop the Pretense of Fiscal Responsibility
The fight over PAYGO is about whether Democrats will pretend to care about the deficit.
Manhattan Institute's Brian Riedl Is Very Worried About Deficits
Our fiscal problems aren't going away. In fact, they're getting worse.
Mark Sanford's Farewell: Spending and Debt 'Could Lead to a Future Hitler-like Character'
Departing congressman warns against populism, "cult of personality," "post-truth" politics, and a government spending addiction that threatens to drive the American civilization "extinct."
A Deficit-Happy Government May Lead to a Debt-Driven Financial Crisis
Get ready for permanent low growth, a stifled entrepreneurial spirit, and high unemployment.
Trump Isn't Serious About Balancing the Budget
As long as Medicare, Social Security, and the Pentagon can't be touched, it's hard to believe the president has discovered his inner fiscal hawk.
The National Debt Is Coming Due, Just Like We Told You
By 2020, interest on the debt will cost more than Medicaid. By 2025, it will cost more than defense spending. And that's just the start.
We Are So Unprepared for the Coming Budgepocalypse: Podcast
You have come to the right place for CBO death porn.
A National Debt 6 Times the Size of the Economy? That's Where America is Heading.
At this rate we'll get there before the end of the century.
When the Bubble Bursts, We're So Screwed
All we have to show for 9 years of economic expansion is record amounts of debt, and all long-term fiscal problems ignored.
'We've Never Had Deficits Like This During Peace and Prosperity Before'
Brian Riedl has a plan to stabilize the national debt at 95 percent of GDP. He says trying it might be political suicide, but the alternative is much worse.
It's Official: 2018 Federal Deficit Largest Since 2012
The federal government spent $790 billion more than it taxed during fiscal year 2018. The deficit is about to get worse. Much worse.
Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Programs Are Useless. A Juvie Teacher's Story Shows Why.
"We consistently allow the government to develop…programs like this that sound really great on paper but have no practical benefit," Keith Bradford says.
Thanks to Rising Debt, Republican Tax Policy Is Now Anti-Growth
In the long term, deficit-financed tax cuts would be a drag on the economy.
Here's What Congress Was Doing While You Were Watching the Kavanaugh Circus
The passage of tax reform 2.0 blows a huge hole in the budget, and a much-touted opioid bill might just make the crisis worse.
Trillion-Dollar Deficits Are Nearly Here. Thanks, Republicans!
At nearly every opportunity, the GOP has made the nation's fiscal outlook worse.
The Brett Kavanaugh Sex Assault Controversy Will Only Get Worse: Podcast
Reason's editors debate whether a single-source allegation from 35 years ago should be enough to derail a Supreme Court pick.
Trump Has Always Been the 'King of Debt,' but Now He's Sticking Taxpayers With the Tab
Trump planned to borrow heavily to fund his still unreleased infrastructure plan, even while the Republicans in Congress were making the deficit worse.
Who Killed the Deficit Hawks? You and Me, but Especially Paul Ryan.
Calls to shrink the size, scope, and spending of government, or even balance its budget, have gone the way of the dodo bird. That's kind of a problem.
Congress Just Passed a $150 Billion Spending Package Without Any Consideration for Looming Trillion-Dollar Deficit
Just days after the latest CBO projections showed the deficit getting worse, Congress signs off on another bi-partisan spending increase.
#MAGA: Federal Deficit Jumps 32 Percent, Hits $895 Billion for Fiscal 2018!
The economy might be humming but when are we going to have to, you know, pay for the party already?
GOP's 'Tax Reform 2.0' Will Make It Harder to Balance the Budget
Plan would extend last year's tax cuts past 2025, but spending cuts are still missing.
Senate Budget Votes Are a Sign of the Trump Era's Other Legacy
One of the most lasting consequences of the Trump years will be Republicans' complete abdication of fiscal responsibility.
Extending Last Year's Tax Cuts Without Massive Spending Reductions Would Be a Fiscal Disaster
New CBO analysis shows debt could exceed 200 percent (!!!) of GDP by mid-century without changes.
House Republicans Want Permanent Tax Cuts They Can't Pay For
GOP legislators released their "Tax Reform 2.0" proposal, which aims to make last year's tax cuts permanent, adding trillions to the $21 trillion debt.
More and More of What We Do Depends on Government Permission
The granting or withholding of that approval is a powerful lever over our lives.
Larry Kudlow Is Bad. So Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Chartreuse Is Good: Podcast
The Reason Podcast crew covers deficits, tariffs, Russians, gender, and more.
Top White House Adviser Wrong About the Deficit, According to White House Report
Trump adviser Larry Kudlow says the tax law will bring the deficit down. An administration report shows that's not right.
Here's What You Could Buy With June's Federal Budget Deficit
Of course, June's deficit represents just a small fraction of our overall national debt.
The Debt Clock Keeps Spinning
Federal debt now equals 78 percent of gross domestic product.
Could Puerto Rico Be the Solution to Our Latest Immigration Fight?
The island's population has fallen dramatically even as Spanish speakers from other nations are desperate for a new home.
CBO: National Debt Projected to Surpass 150 Percent of GDP in Next 30 Years
Entitlement spending, health care costs, and the GOP tax legislation will drive up the debt.
Congressional Republicans Say They Just Cut $15 Billion in Spending. It's Actually Only $1.1 Billion.
President Donald Trump's rescission bill actually cuts just $57 million from current year spending. So that oughta solve the fiscal crisis.
Social Security Will Be Insolvent In 16 Years. Maybe Congress Should Do Something About That.
Medicare will run dry even sooner. Do you trust anyone in Washington to solve this problem?
Trump's Budget Only Reduces the Deficit If You Accept Some Very Unlikely Assumptions
The really scary thing is that even the CBO's more accurate assessment is also based on unlikely assumptions.
Rejecting Rand Paul's Budget, Republicans Commit to Fiscal Irresponsibility
Even the suggestion that defense spending could be cut is enough to scare most Republicans away from a facing fiscal reality.
