There's No Such Thing as 'Free Money' or Meaningless Deficits
As debt soars, federal payments to service the debt will crowd out the government's core spending responsibilities.
Entitlements
Man, This CBO Report About 'Unprecedented' Debt Levels Is a Bummer
The national debt will hit 140 percent of GDP before the end of the 2040s, and that's the optimistic scenario.
Deficit Politics May Have Gone Away, but Debt and Deficits Are Worse Than Ever
The federal budget situation used to be an emergency. What happened?
Mick Mulvaney Turns His Back on Fiscal Responsibility
"Show me the majority for cutting spending," he says.
Social Security's Real Problem? Not Money, but Time.
When the program becomes insolvent in the 2030s, the inevitable cuts will hit today's workers and retirees.
Social Security Will Be Insolvent in 16 Years
So we're probably only 15 years away from Congress deciding that's a big enough crisis to do something about it.
Are Food-Stamp Receipts Beyond the Reach of FOIA? Supreme Court Hears Arguments Today
Plus: Violence in Sri Lanka leads to social media suppression, and the White House wants to make it harder for pretrial diversion participants to get government jobs.
A Mild-Mannered Radical
Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' totally insane, very practical ideas about how to fix college debt, reform entitlements, and redefine social justice
National Debt Hits a New Record High: $22 Trillion
A new record, but one that won't stand for long.
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.
Congress Just Passed a Farm Bill That Legalizes Industrial Hemp. Other Than That, It's a Disaster.
The House Freedom Caucus calls it "a sprawling, cronyist agriculture bill."
We Are So Unprepared for the Coming Budgepocalypse: Podcast
You have come to the right place for CBO death porn.
'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.
Think Your State Is Fiscally Sound? Think Again
It's time to find out how deep in the red our country is.
Flirting With Presidential Run, Former Starbucks CEO Says America Needs to Address National Debt
"There's no for-profit business in the world that could sustain itself or survive with $20 trillion in debt," says Howard Schultz. "It's just not responsible."
USDA's 'Harvest Box' Food-Shipping Proposal Is Truly Absurd
Poor people are likely to make better food choices for themselves than the government.
Trump's Food Stamp Overhaul Sounds Like a Boondoggle Waiting to Happen
And, weirdly, grocery store cronyism might be the thing that stops it.
Woman Still Getting Civil-War Survivor Benefits Shows How Federal Policies Mortgage the Future
Abraham Lincoln couldn't have dreamed that 21st-century Americans would still be paying for pensions created under him.
Resolved: 15 Million Americans Would Be Better Off Without Welfare
Center for American Progress' Neera Tanden and Foundation for Government Accountability's Tarran Bragdon debate government handouts at the Soho Forum.
Tax Reform, Paul Ryan, and a New Death of Hope: Podcast
Reason editors point to the good stuff in tax reform, and the bad everything else
Sanders' Medicare for All Delusion
Americans might love what Sanders offers in the way of more benefits for more people. What they would hate is paying for it.
Amazon Offers Cheap Prime to Government Aid Recipients
But is Jeff Bezos the new John D. Rockefeller?
Welfare Reform Paved Trail For Obamacare Repeal
Not only can entitlement programs be rolled back, but politicians who do it can even get re-elected.
Why Disgraced Congressman Trey Radel Went Crazy (And America Will Too)
Democrazy, his new memoir, explores the hidden side of Washington, D.C. where it's all about money, power, and...finger food.
The Coming Federal Fiscal Binge
Ready for another round of tax cuts combined with spending increases?
This Former Congressman Is Against the War on Drugs
Trey Radel explains why he's not "just another tea party asswipe who got busted for drugs and voted to drug test food stamp recipients."
Trump Has Radically Transformed the GOP
The party has already given up on five of its core issues.
Trump's Economic Illiteracy on Display in Address to Congress
The president takes a reckless stance on free trade, entitlements, and debt reduction.
The NEA Today, Entitlements Tomorrow
Is the OMB's kill list a sign of fiscal seriousness or the opposite?
Trump's Hostility to Immigration Goes Hand in Hand With His Embrace of Entitlements
Trump doesn't care about restraining the welfare state. He just wants to make sure the benefits go to the right people.
Hey Boomers, Give Thanks To the Millennials We're Like Totally Ripping Off!
The cost of today's and tomorrow's lavish public pensions and entitlements will be borne by younger Americans.
'We Have Two Parties Right Now That Have Abandoned All Pretenses at Realism About Our $20 Trillion National Debt and About Our Entitlements'
Matt Welch assesses Hillary Clinton's absurd "I do not add a penny to the national debt" claim on Stossel
Of COURSE Donald Trump Hates Jeff Flake: The Senator Preferences Fiscal Conservatism Over Party Politics
Weekend spat reveals much about the state of the contemporary GOP.
Do Robots Dream of Electric Retirement Savings Accounts?
Study uses technological advancement to call for expansion of the state.
Five Years and $500 Million Later, USDA Admits That 'Food Deserts' Don't Matter
You can lead people to Whole Foods, but you can't make them buy organic kale.
Why Obama's Social Security Proposal Would Screw Over Millennials
Expanding a retirement program that's not fiscally solvent is no way to treat the young.
Bernie Sanders Says Scott Walker's Ideology 'Kills People'
Sanders, who is a fan of communist regimes, accuses a center-right governor of being responsible for people dying because of his policy preferences.
Chris Christie's Trump Endorsement Proves He's an Authoritarian Who Never Really Cared About Entitlement Reform
Christie's campaign was built around reforms that Trump opposes.
The Middle Class Is Shrinking! Because They're Getting Rich!
Success is seen as a disaster when you care more about income inequality than mobility.
Paul Ryan vs. Bernie Sanders on College Entitlements
God forbid, Bernie becomes our 45th president, who will stand in his way?
Yes, Rand Paul, Running for President Is a Drag. So Have Some Fun, Already!
5 ways that the libertarianish candidate can turn a depressing duty into a liberating opportunity
Generational Swindle: How DC is Screwing over Millennials
Jared Meyer on "Disinherited: How Washington Is Betraying America's Young"
America's Coming Transfer of Wealth
How entitlement spending transfers wealth from the young to the old.
Conservatarians Rising?
Charles C.W. Cooke on blending elements of the conservative and libertarian philosophies.
