After All Those DOGE Cuts, Federal Spending Still Increased by $300 Billion
For the fiscal year that ended on September 30, the federal government spent more than $7 trillion and ran a $1.8 trillion deficit.
For the fiscal year that ended on September 30, the federal government spent more than $7 trillion and ran a $1.8 trillion deficit.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the CBO, and the Fed are far from perfect. But the U.S. needs a statistical system that is modern, agile, and protected from political interference.
After accounting for the dynamic effects of the Trump-backed tax bill, the CBO concludes it will add $2.8 trillion to the deficit over 10 years.
That total will rise to about $3 trillion once the interest costs of more borrowing are included.
Even if the Fed tried to cut rates, inflation, investor reluctance, and a $25 trillion borrowing spree could keep them elevated for years.
Protectionism in Egypt and Iraq fueled corruption, stagnation, and smuggling—not prosperity.
Bonus: They're unpopular too, according to a new poll.
This week's House Budget Committee hearing showed bipartisan agreement about the seriousness of America's fiscal problems.
When they entered the White House, the budget deficit was a pandemic-influenced $2.3 trillion, and it was set to fall to $905 billion by 2024. It's now twice what it was supposed to be.
The candidate who grasps the gravity of this situation and proposes concrete steps to address it will demonstrate the leadership our nation now desperately needs. The stakes couldn't be higher.
Reasonable options include gradually raising the minimum retirement age, adjusting benefits to reflect longer life expectancies, and implementing fair means-testing to ensure benefits flow where they're actually needed.
The average American will lose between $5,000 and $14,000 annually by 2054 due to the burden of the growing national debt.
Why aren't politicians on both sides more worried than they seem to be?
The government needs to cut back on spending—and on the promises to special interests that fuel the spending.
Plus: A listener asks if the state of Oregon’s policy on drug decriminalization should be viewed as a success.
The reality raises questions about the kind of future we want to leave for the next generation.
They will either reduce the ability to spend money or to cut taxes.
In the last 50 years, when the budget process has been in place, Congress has managed only four times to pass a budget on time.
Years ago, when interest rates were low, calls for the federal government to exercise fiscal restraint were dismissed. That was unwise.
Higher rates lead to more debt, and more debt begets higher rates, and on and on. Get the picture?
Plus: A listener asks whether younger generations are capable of passing reforms to entitlement spending.
Fiscal irresponsibility might eventually shut down the government, but at the moment it’s all for show.
Balanced federal budgets aren’t even considered as a possibility.
Many politicians offer a simplified view of the world—one in which government interventions are all benefits and no costs. That couldn't be further from the truth.
Plus: Was Gerald Ford right to pardon Richard Nixon?
Projections of huge savings are making the rounds. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Last year, Biden was trying to take credit for "the largest drop ever" in the federal budget deficit. Now, the deficit is almost three times as large as it was a year ago.
Unlike the Education Department's estimates, a CBO analysis considers how the new rules will encourage more students to take out loans they won't be able to pay back.
If Republicans refuse to gore their three sacred cows, a new CBO report shows that balancing the budget is literally impossible.
Krugman sees benefit cuts as "a choice" but believes that implementing a massive tax increase on American employers and workers would be "of course" no big deal.
Plus: Age verification for social media, a bill to ban cannabis "gatherings," and more...
The Congressional Budget Office projects that future deficits will explode. But there's a way out.
His administration has expanded deficits by $400 billion more than expected, even before we count recent spending.
Dissecting the president's misleading claims about falling deficits
The president is trying to claim credit for falling deficits. Actually, his administration has overseen a $2.4 trillion increase in the long-term deficit.
New CBO report shows that the longer Congress waits to deal with the debt, the bigger the problem becomes.
Enough with the budget gimmicks. It's time for Democrats to admit that Biden's proposal is a long, long way from being fully paid for.
The Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the bill is unlikely to prevent its passage through the House. A vote could happen later tonight.
A CBO report that might have sunk legislation in an earlier era was greeted with a bipartisan shrug.
Even without further spending increases, the Congressional Budget Office projects that the national debt will hit 107 percent of GDP in 2023.
The Congressional Budget Office warns that higher levels of debt will slow economic growth significantly in the years ahead.
Skyrocketing debt, higher borrowing costs, and a hobbled economy are predicted in the latest Congressional Budget Office report.
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.
Remember when $1 trillion annual deficits were worryingly large? Last month’s budget gap was $864 billion.
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.
Having failed to be fiscally responsible when it would have been relatively easier, our elected officials will now likely hike spending even further.
The Congressional Budget Office says 17 million workers will see higher paychecks, but the poorest and least skilled are likely to be left out.
The national debt will hit 140 percent of GDP before the end of the 2040s, and that's the optimistic scenario.
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