Janet Yellen Sells Big Business on Big Government
The treasury secretary told the Chamber of Commerce that an activist government funded by higher corporate taxes would be a boon for business too.
Deficits
Yes, the National Debt Matters
Many Democrats and Republicans act like spending isn't an issue. Here's why they're wrong.
The Era of Small Government Is Over
Is there any hope to check the growth of the state?
Looming Budget Catastrophe in Pictures So Simple Even Congress Can Understand
Maybe drawings can deter elected officials from their outrageous spending habits where detailed reports have failed to attract their attention.
Biden's $1.5 Trillion Budget Request Would Fund All Nails Needed for the Coffin of Fiscal Restraint
The White House is proposing an 8.4 percent boost in discretionary spending, which comes on top of Biden's $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill, and his proposed $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan.
Does National Debt Still Matter? America's Greatest Gamble
Fiscal hawks have been sounding the alarm about rising debt levels for decades, but their nightmare scenario of runaway inflation hasn't come to pass. How do we know if this time is different?
Congress Uses COVID-19 As a Cover for an Epidemic of Fiscal Recklessness
Legislators view the disease as a license to spend like there’s no tomorrow.
Stop Trying To Create a Zero-Risk Society
We will likely grapple with the consequences of ill-advised COVID-19 policies for years to come.
State Revenue Is 'Virtually Flat.' Local Government Revenue Is Up Slightly. Congress Wants To Give Them $350 Billion Anyway.
The Democrats' COVID bill showers billions of unneeded dollars on state and local governments.
Beware the COVID-19 Debt Hangover
Biden's proposed stimulus spending might give a modest boost, but in the long run it'll slow the economy.
State, Local Governments Are Posting Surprisingly Sunny Revenue Projections. Democrats Want To Give Them $350 Billion Anyway.
Most states managed to avoid much-predicted fiscal crises during the pandemic. Congress wants to shower them with more federal aid anyway.
Political Problems Are Policy Problems
The market's failure to produce an ideal outcome cannot alone justify activist policy, because governments can also fail to produce the ideal.
Universal Student Debt Forgiveness Is Regressive, Say Economists
Plus: Uber abandons self-driving autos, on being "both loud and silenced," and more...
Forgiving Student Debt Wouldn't Be a Major Economic Stimulus
Despite Elizabeth Warren's contention that it is the "single most effective economic stimulus that is available through executive action," forgiving student debt is a bad idea.
Neera Tanden, Biden's Pick for Budget Office: Now Is Not the Time To 'Worry About Raising Deficits and Debt'
She once suggested that if Americans care about the deficit so much, maybe we should make Libya pay for it.
America Is Drowning in Pandemic Debt, but Congress Still Wants To Buy the Pentagon New Toys
If we can't trim the Pentagon's budget this year, will we ever?
Joe Biden's $11 Trillion Plan To Bankrupt America
The president-elect promised record levels of spending and taxes on the campaign trail. Will he succeed?
Biden and Trump Offer Competing Tax Proposals, but Both Ignore Economic Reality
Trump plans to steal less of other people’s cash then Biden does, though neither has any serious suggestions for paying for their spending schemes.
The Next COVID Stimulus Bill Could Cost Trillions of Dollars or Might Not Happen at All
There's a fox, a goose, and a bag of grain. And a hippopotamus in the middle of the river.
Debt Reckoning
After years of federal fiscal recklessness, is Washington's bill finally coming due?
The Case Against Trump: Donald Trump Is an Enemy of Freedom
When it comes to limiting the size and scope of government and protecting individual liberties, America's 45th president has been actively malign.
Congress Continues to Spend Delusional Amounts of Money
Even without further spending increases, the Congressional Budget Office projects that the national debt will hit 107 percent of GDP in 2023.
America's Debt Will be Twice the Size of the Economy by 2050
The Congressional Budget Office warns that higher levels of debt will slow economic growth significantly in the years ahead.
After the Stimulus Binge, Brace for a Crash
Skyrocketing debt, higher borrowing costs, and a hobbled economy are predicted in the latest Congressional Budget Office report.
Joe Biden's Proposed Budget Would Hike Spending, Raise Taxes, and Further Inflate the National Debt
Biden is proposing about $3 trillion in new taxes, mostly on the rich, to pay for up to $11 trillion in new spending. That's a recipe for even bigger budget deficits.
America's National Debt Will Be Larger Than the Economy Next Year
The Congressional Budget Office says the deficit will hit $3.3 trillion this year. The national debt will exceed the size of America's gross domestic product for the first time since the end of World War II.
Want To Boost Economic Growth? Tell Government To Spend Less
Research suggests reducing spending will boost consumption in the short- and long-run.
Why Stimulus Spending Fails
More spending means more debt and more future taxes.
Trump's Executive Disorder
The next Democratic president will be all too happy to govern by pen and phone too, say the Reason Roundtable podcasters.
Rand Paul on Republican Plans for Another Coronavirus Stimulus Bill: 'They Simply Don't Care About the Debt'
Congress is currently debating what should be included in the next trillion-dollar (and counting) stimulus bill, but nothing is likely to pass this week.
The Federal Budget Deficit in June Was Bigger Than the Entire Federal Budget Deficit for 2018
Remember when $1 trillion annual deficits were worryingly large? Last month’s budget gap was $864 billion.
Has the U.S. Government Finally Spent Too Much?
When COVID-19 arrived in America, Uncle Sam was already deep in debt.
The Next Pandemic Will Be Caused by the National Debt. It Will Crater the Economy.
Debt held by the public equals about 100 percent of GDP. That's hurting growth and will fuel a major crisis.
America's Long-Term Debt Crisis Is Now a Short-Term Problem
Even in a healthy economy, rising debt and deficits posed challenges. The current crisis has magnified those problems.
GOP Debt Hypocrisy
The Trump-era GOP lends credence to the idea that Obama-era Republicans cared about deficits only as a means of hampering a Democratic president.
The Next Stimulus: Infrastructure Week, Another Rural Broadband Boondoggle, and Maybe a Sports Bailout?
It's obvious that there will be more government spending in response to the coronavirus, but distinguishing the essential from the nice-to-have is more important than ever.
Health Care Expert Avik Roy on Saving the Economy From COVID-19
"The more we lock down the economy, the more we harm those individuals who are most vulnerable, who don't have the cash cushions or the white-collar jobs that allow them to keep going."
What Each Side of the COVID-19 Debate Should Understand About the Other
The war between Openers and Closers shouldn't be seen as a fight between idiot death-worshippers and unnecessarily frightened tyrants.
Budget Deficit Now Expected To Near $4 Trillion This Year
And more coronavirus stimulus spending could send that number soaring higher.
Are There Fiscal Conservatives in a Pandemic? The Club for Growth Says It Doesn't Matter.
The Club for Growth prides itself on holding lawmakers accountable "by publicizing their voting record." Except, well…not right now.
'Let's Do a Manhattan Project Against This Virus': Thomas Massie
The Kentucky Republican took on Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi to fight against the $2 trillion coronavirus spending package. He's just getting started.
How Much Is $2.3 Trillion? More Than Even Obama Could Imagine
The CARES Act plunges the nation into a crash course on experimental economics.—and we're the lab rats.
A Trillion-Dollar Deficit This Year Is Now Officially the Best Case Scenario
The coronavirus is going to crater tax revenues and hike spending. And the Congressional Budget Office says the deficit was going to exceed $1 trillion even before all that.
Coronavirus Is Going To Be Expensive. Too Bad the Government Is Already in Massive Debt.
Having failed to be fiscally responsible when it would have been relatively easier, our elected officials will now likely hike spending even further.
Just How Good Is Trump's Economy, Anyway?
While the 2017 tax cuts didn't deliver the results promised by Trump and his magical-thinking supporters, the administration has delivered some economic expansion, some job creation, and some investment growth.
