The Clock Is Ticking: U.S. Could Default on Debt Payments by June 1
It's time for President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to strike a deal that will avoid a default and cut spending.
Budget
Joe Biden Wants 4 More Years 'To Finish the Job.' What Job?
Plus: A listener question scrutinizing current attitudes toward executive power
Don't Believe the Media Fearmongering About Spending Cuts
In 2019, discretionary spending was $1.338 trillion—or some $320 billion less than what Republicans want that side of the budget to be.
The House GOP Debt Ceiling Plan Would Restore Spending Caps. Good.
The most important part of the Limit, Grow, Save Act is the limits.
These Members of Congress Have a Revolutionary Idea: Write and Pass a Budget the Old-Fashioned Way
A return to so-called normal order wouldn't fix all of Washington's many problems, but it would be a step in the right direction.
Don't Give the Federal Trade Commission a Big Budget Just To Punish Big Firms
FTC Chair Lina Khan has an agenda that's against big companies, not for consumer well-being.
To Balance the Budget, Republicans Must Cut Military Spending, Trim Entitlements, or Raise Taxes
If Republicans refuse to gore their three sacred cows, a new CBO report shows that balancing the budget is literally impossible.
Congress Hasn't Passed a Budget on Time in 27 Years
Congress' end-of-year rush to fund the federal government has become the norm.
Biden's New Budget Would Hike Taxes and Wage Class Warfare
The higher taxes on small businesses and entrepreneurs could slow growth. Less opportunity means more tribalism and division.
Ridiculous Spending on Museums May Be Here To Stay
Handouts for tourist-trap museums will be part of the federal funding battleground in the next two years.
Social Security and Medicare Cuts Are Coming, Whether Politicians Do It or Not
As legislators refuse to act, benefits will be cut without any possibility of sheltering those seniors who are poor.
Under No Circumstances Did Joe Biden Save Social Security
Plus: a listener question on prohibition and a lightning round on the editors' favorite Super Bowl moments
The Fight Over the Debt Ceiling Is Just Beginning
Legislators will increasingly argue over how to spend a diminishing discretionary budget while overall spending simultaneously explodes.
Ron DeSantis Wants $12 Million To Transport Migrants 'From Any Point' in the U.S.
The Florida governor wants to fund more migrant stunts, despite claiming that his budget will “keep more money in the pockets of Floridians.”
Review: Knock at the Cabin and To Leslie
Shyamalan’s latest twist and a most unexpected Oscar nom.
The GOP's Current Plan To Cut Spending Is a Political Failure
Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are still the chief drivers of our future debt. But Republicans aren't touching them.
Cutting Government Back to Last Year's Size Shouldn't Be 'Impossible' or 'Severe'
Taking stock of the utterly unserious fiscal policy discourse in Washington.
Whatever the Fate of the Fair Tax Act, Congress Should Still Abolish the IRS
Getting rid of the much-despised tax agency would be a good idea. It’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Congress and the Federal Reserve Could Be Setting Us Up for Economic Disaster
If lawmakers keep spending like they are, and if the Fed backs down from taming inflation, then the government may create a perfect storm.
Congress Can Reduce the Deficit by $7.7 Trillion in 10 Years
The Congressional Budget Office projects that future deficits will explode. But there's a way out.
A New FBI Building Would Cost Billions. Do We Even Need One?
Congress' end-of-the-year omnibus bill was delayed by arguments over where to build the new facility.
Subsidies To Help Workers Would Hurt Poor People
Some people would benefit. Others would lose money or be rendered unemployable.
Congress' Lame-Duck Legislators Want To Spend Money Like We're Still in a Pandemic
It's especially outrageous when considering the billions of dollars in fraud that took place thanks to COVID-19 relief programs.
Biden's Spending Spree Is Unprecedented
Instead of redirecting course, Biden is continuing Trump’s spending legacy.
A GOP-Led Congress May Focus on Owning the Libs. Instead, It Should Focus on Owning Inflation.
If the midterms favor Republicans, their top priority needs to be the fight against inflation—whether or not they feel like they created the problem.
The U.K.'s New 'Free Market' Prime Minister Is Fighting Inflation With Price Controls
This fiscal irresponsibility throws gasoline on the country's already raging inflation fire.
Biden Says the Deficit Is Falling. Actually, It's Rising.
Under Biden, Trump, and Obama, government federal spending almost doubled.
Gov. Newsom Proposes Eliminating One of California's Many Marijuana Taxes
The cultivation tax has driven up the cost of growing cannabis, fueling illegal operations and the state’s enormous black market.
The Defense Budget Keeps Ballooning To Fund Fleeting U.S. Primacy
The proposed defense budget reaches $813 billion, and politicians still can’t think critically about how to spend it.
Joe Biden Wants To Spend How Much? On What Now?
Plus: What is the libertarian stake in the culture war over school curriculums?
Biden Is Clueless About Inflation
The president's $5.8 trillion budget shows he wants more of the same government spending that is already sending prices through the roof.
Joe Manchin on Biden's Wealth Tax: 'You Can't Tax Something That's Not Earned.'
Joe Manchin keeps saying out loud the part that Joe Biden would rather keep quiet.
Biden Is Trying To Pass a Wealth Tax—Again. It Could Be Unconstitutional.
The president's new budget plan calls on Congress to tax wealthy Americans' unrealized capital gains.
Blame Biden for High Gas Prices
The president is running from his own hefty contributions to record gas prices and inflation.
More Defense Spending Does Not Equal More Safety
Congress continues to allocate funds to produce weapons that the Pentagon itself says it doesn't need.
Why Can't We Build Anything?
The issue has never been a lack of funds for infrastructure; it's that the money frequently ends up getting spent on something else via a highly politicized decision-making process.
Republicans Mull Shutting Down the Government Over Vaccine Mandate Funding
Plus: SCOTUS hears oral arguments in landmark abortion case, supply chain bottlenecks and labor shortages are holding back economic growth, and more...
No, the United States Has Not Always Paid Its Debts
There are five instances of the Treasury defaulting on the debt.
Inflation Will Make Government Budget Problems Worse
The cost of interest on the national debt will soon be a huge chunk of change.
The World's Richest Countries Want To Create a Competition-Crushing Global Tax Cartel
Hundreds of leaders have endorsed a 15 percent global minimum tax to quash countries with lower and simpler taxes.
Freedom, Responsibility, and Coronavirus Policy
Plus: The Reason Roundtable makes talking about taxes interesting.
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.
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.
Boris Johnson Taxes the Young To Pay for the Old
The highest tax burden in a generation confirms the Conservative Party has no interest in small government.
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 Pandemic Has Most Americans Paying No Federal Income Taxes
A minority of the population picking up the tab would be dangerous if the situation were to last.
A Jobs-Killing Civilian Climate Corps Is Not the Way To Fix Climate Change
Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have proposed the creation of a counterproductive $130 billion federal behemoth.
