CBO: Biden's 'Build Back Better' Plan Will Add $367 Billion to the Deficit
The Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the bill is unlikely to prevent its passage through the House. A vote could happen later tonight.
Deficits
Trump Laid the Groundwork for Biden's Infrastructure Boondoggle
It's Biden's bill, but Trump helped set the stage.
40 Years of Trillion-Dollar Debt
Forty years from now, it'll be much, much, much higher.
How Democrats Could Hide $2 Trillion in New Spending With Budget Gimmicks
Legislating with budget gimmicks is shameful, timid, risky, and opportunistic. Mostly, though, it's really expensive.
Why Biden's $3.5 Trillion Spending Plan Would Be Worse for the Economy Than Manchin's $1.5 Trillion Proposal
Manchin's $1.5 trillion plan is still bigger than the Obama stimulus, and would be a major expansion of government's power to redistribute wealth.
Progressives Want To Use a Giant Budget Gimmick To Hide the Cost of the Democrats' Spending Bill
When everything's a priority, nothing is.
Congress Raised the Debt Ceiling Again Without Doing Anything To Fix the $28 Trillion National Debt
Plus: Why "reforming" Section 230 makes little sense, the FDA finally admits vaping is safer than smoking, the U.S. will reopen its land borders with Canada and Mexico, and more...
Joe Manchin Isn't the Fiscal Conservative We Need, but He's the Best We've Got
"Spending trillions more on new and expanded government programs, when we can't even pay for the essential social programs...is the definition of fiscal insanity."
Our Looming Trillion Dollar Doom
Plus: the unintended consequences of mandating COVID vaccines for students
Joe Manchin Is Forcing Congress To Think About the Deficit. Good.
Among Americans who aren't liberal pundits, the debt and deficit rank as major concerns. It's about time Congress noticed.
Democrats Are Denying Basic Economics
Under Biden, Democrats have decided that their agenda has no costs and no tradeoffs.
Biden Says $3.5 Trillion Reconciliation Bill Has a Price Tag of 'Zero.' That's Dubious.
Democrats are now relying on the same "dynamic scoring" technique they've previously criticized.
Blame Both Parties if the Federal Government Shuts Down in December
Democrats want to raise the debt ceiling, while Republicans occasionally remember they're against big government spending.
Democrats Don't Have a Filibuster Problem. They Have a Joe Manchin Problem.
The problem isn’t the GOP or Senate rules. It’s that Democrats can’t agree amongst themselves.
Biden's $3.5 Trillion Spending Plan Will Leave Americans Poorer in the Long Run
A new analysis projects that private capital, wages, and America's GDP will fall over the next three decades if Congress passes the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. But at least government debt will grow!
Medicare Is About To Run Out of Money. Democrats Want To Make the Program Cost Even More.
The federal health care program is on track for a trust fund shortfall in just five years. But instead of paying for the program that exists, Democrats want to expand it.
The Democratic Dividing Line: Big Government…Or Even Bigger Government?
To spend a lot of money, or to spend a lot more money? That is the question.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Is a Sham
The Senate just passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill—and teed up another $3.5 trillion bill in the process.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Will Add More Than $250 Billion to the Deficit. Does Anyone Care?
A CBO report that might have sunk legislation in an earlier era was greeted with a bipartisan shrug.
When Government Spending Hurts the Most Vulnerable
As inflation increases, we need a low-debt environment.
Economist John Cochrane Is Still Worried About the Debt
The U.S. national debt held by the public is currently almost $22 trillion, surpassing the country's annual GDP for the first time since World War II.
Magical Thinking Abounds in New Budget Deal Discourse
Plus: The growing trust gap, pandemic-low unemployment numbers, and more...
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Shows That Republicans Love Big Government Just as Much as Democrats
We don't have a gridlock problem. We have a spending problem.
Many Politicians Claim That Increased Spending Sparks Economic Growth. Here's Why That's Misleading.
A new study finds that as the government expands, the private sector shrinks.
Biden's Astronomical Budget Proposal Even Has Some Democrats Worried
The spending plan demonstrates an unwillingness to govern and a preference for pandering to special interests.
Joe Biden's $6 Trillion Budget Proposal Will Hike Spending, Keep Deficits Near Record Highs
In Biden's plan, the government would consume a historically large share of the economy—and those taxes still wouldn't be enough to pay for everything
An $86 Billion Moral Hazard
Nestled in the $1.9 trillion emergency spending bill passed in March was a bailout for unions' private pension funds.
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.
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?
