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.
Budget
Time for Senate Republicans to Poke the Bear
The legislative branch is failing its basic constitutional duties, out of cowardly fear of a blustery president.
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.
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.
Trump Remembers Budget Deficit, Announces Federal Pay Freeze
The federal government has run up a deficit of $684 billion this year. The CBO predicts that number will exceed $1 trillion in 2019.
The Senate Just Gave the Pentagon an $82 Billion Boost. That's More Money Than Russia's Entire Military Budget.
Democrats will oppose anything Trump wants, unless it's more money for the Pentagon.
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.
Rand Paul's Plan to Balance the Budget by 2023 Will Get a Senate Vote This Week
Do Republicans have the guts to impose strict spending caps?
Republicans Have Finally Been Revealed as the Party of Fiscal Ruin
As Paul Ryan exits, a new CBO report confirms the extent of the GOP's damage to the nation's budget.
Trillion-Dollar Deficits Are Back and Here to Stay
The Congressional Budget Office is about to release a report. Spoiler alert: It won't be pretty.
The Spending Bill Brings Us Closer to National Bankruptcy
Thanks to Congress and President Trump, budget deficits will only mushroom.
A One-Page Provision About Minor League Baseball Shows How Broken Congress' Legislative Process Is
Congress kneecapped minor league ballplayers' lawsuit with last week's omnibus bill. Even if that was the right thing to do, the way it was done is wrong.
9 Ridiculous Things About the Omnibus Budget Bill
Spending. The Pentagon. TIGER grants. Border Wall. NSF. Planned Parenthood. CDC. Head Start. The whole process. I can't take it anymore.
The New Omnibus Is Terrible Because Congress Is Broken
The spending bill is a product of a broken, secretive, centralized legislative process.
Congress Is Still Ignoring Its Spending Problem as Deadline Looms for $1.3 Trillion Spending Bill
Four out of five voters agree that Washington has a spending problem, but a new omnibus spending bill will add yet more to the national debt.
Trump's New Budget Plan Proves He Won't Even Pretend to Care About the Debt
The era of big government is far from over.
Trump's New Budget Plan Is a Fiscal Disaster
The administration's spending blueprint continues the fiscal decline that began during the Bush era.
Please Enjoy These Videos of Paul Ryan Being Concerned About Debt and Overspending
"The real problem is that we spend way more money than we take in. We have to address that."
Rand Paul Single-Handedly Tries to Stop Massive Spending Plan (Update: Congress Passes Budget Deal)
"What you are seeing is recklessness being passed off as bipartisanship," said Paul on the Senate floor.
Senate Reaches Bipartisan Deal to Keep the Government Open By Spending More Money On Everything
Both parties agree on more spending and bigger deficits.
Rand Paul's Plan to Eliminate Government Shutdowns: Automatic 1 Percent Budget Cuts
Because nothing in Washington is more terrifying than the prospect of a minuscule spending reduction
Play Reason Podcast Bingo, Win Fame and Fabulous Prizes[*]
[*] Not really, but you will likely be edified and entertained if you subscribe to our free, three-times-a-week podcast.
Wait: The Government Is Incompetent, So We Want it To Do *More*?
The feds can't pass a budget or do much very well, yet a record level of Americans want it more involved in our lives. That's not as crazy as it seems.
California Budget in Decent Shape, but Jerry Brown Missed Vast Opportunities
The governor often talks about fiscal frugality, responsibility and reform, but there isn't much follow-up action.
Does the Congressional Gym Lack Towels Due To Shutdown?
Everything you need to know about the Trump/GOP/Schumer/Pelosi/Democratic government shutdown of 2018 in a single tweet.
The Government Shutdown Is an Artifact of a Broken Budget Process
Budgeting isn't about budgeting anymore.
Congressional Budget Incompetence Can't Compete with Spankgate, Girthergate, Shitgazi
The president is who he is, and that's sad. But Congress has no excuse for not passing a budget and doing its job.
GOP Leaders Tell Fiscal Hawks To Fly Away, No Budget This Year
Republican leaders spent most of the Obama years attacking rising debt and massive spending. Now that they control the budget, they could not care less.
Congressional New Year's Resolutions
Read bills before voting, and other ways Congress can be less terrible in 2018.
Tax Reform Was Easy, Spending Cuts Are Un-possible
President Trump and the GOP leadership has already reneged on promises to tackle entitlements.
U.S. Military Will Cost About $6 Trillion* Over Next Decade, Says CBO
*Not including the cost of ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Niger...or the $4.8 trillion debt already accumulated from the post-9/11 wars.
The GOP's Deficit Trigger is a Self-Deceiving Budget Gimmick
Republicans want to create the illusion of deficit control.
Ex-Presidents We Want to Drink With: Podcast
This week's show covers the John Kelly phone flap, former presidents against Trump, and why Republicans are only pretending to be worried about the budget.
Trump, Pelosi, and Schumer Are Besties: The Case Against Bad Bipartisanship
The president and congressional Democrats just worked together on a bad debt ceiling and budget deal.
Trump Budget Full of Spending Increases
Proponents of government spending warned of a budget full of cuts, but that's not what happened.
Kansas' Tax Cut Experiment Was A Predictable Failure
People like lower taxes, just not lower spending. Kansas is a lesson that you can't have the former without the latter.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Nevertheless It Persists: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Fights Trump, Congress, and Federal Courts in Effort to Remain Unaccountable to Anyone
The CFPB is fighting a three-front war against Congress, the Trump administration, and in the courts to maintain its unaccountable status.
The Battle of Budget Ideas Rages On
The 2018 federal budget suggests small but necessary reforms.
Trump's Budget to Preserve the Swamp?
Republicans dodge another opportunity to rein in spending.
Trump's Half-Baked Budget
Its projection relies on giddy GDP growth estimates that few credible economists, liberal or conservative, take seriously.
Trump's Budget Plan: The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly
It doesn't cut overall spending, it's based on gimmicks, but it does slash some programs.
