The Bond Market Doesn't Trust the Treasury
To judge from rising 10-year interest rates, the bond market doesn't seem to expect Trump to bring inflation or spending under control.
Government Spending
The Federal Government Ran Up a $2 Trillion Deficit in 2026
Congress hasn’t balanced the budget in 25 years.
America Hits a New Debt Record at $40 Trillion and Counting
President Donald Trump has surpassed Barack Obama's record for most debt amassed by a president.
Want To Stop the Iran War? Don't Pay the Bill
Congress can stop Trump's Iran war by failing to fund it.
The National Debt Has Exploded. The Reckoning Is Still Coming.
Even the best-case scenario means less investment, slower wage growth, and a budget increasingly spent on past obligations.
Trump's New Ads Look Like Campaign Spots. Taxpayers Are Paying for Them.
With midterm voting underway, the distinction between public service announcements and campaign ads blurs.
Once Recession-Proof, D.C. Feels the Pain From Federal Workforce Reductions
Formerly tax-supported workers are discovering the uncertainties the private sector faces every day.
Trump Says He Wants To Beat China With Tariffs. He's Made the U.S. Weaker Instead.
China does present some real national security challenges. But the Trump administration's policies have made it harder to address those, all while damaging American prosperity.
Nikole Hannah-Jones' Experiment Accidentally Undercuts Her Case Against School Choice
The New York Times writer credits her own adult success with attending wealthier schools outside her neighborhood. So why does she blame New York City's education problems on choice?
Federal Health Care Subsidies Are Devouring the Budget and Killing Patient Satisfaction
A plague of federal rules and spending is bad medicine.
Nikole Hannah-Jones Admits Failing NYC Schools 'Betrayed' Daughter
Robby Soave and Amber Duke discuss what’s gone wrong in New York City public schools.
Trump Takes Page From Leftist Playbook With $5,000 Dividend Proposal
The Trump administration is willing to use public money for campaigning and gamble the country’s fiscal future, just like the leftists in Argentina who ran against Milei.
The Trump Administration Paid Federal Workers $9.5 Billion To Skip Work
How's that for efficiency?
The Fed Can't Fight Inflation Alone. Will Congress Do Its Part?
Lawmakers have to show they'll back the national debt with future fiscal surpluses, which means reining in government spending.
New York Wants To Scrap Testing Requirements While School Spending Soars
This week, the state's educational leaders moved to eliminate Regents exam requirements for high school students.
Close the Center
Plus: Embryos on ice, Venezuela's collapse, Talarico's lead, and more...
Is AI Really an Existential Threat?
Plus: California's new restrictions on social media, Trump's $5,000 “dividend,” and the future of libertarianism.
Trump and Vance's Plan To Bribe Voters With $5,000 Checks Shows MAGA Is Out of Ideas
By quickly endorsing Trump's ridiculous plan to bribe voters in the midterms, J.D. Vance reveals something about the future of Trumpism. There isn't one.
There's No Market Failure in Choosing to Stay Home. So Why Subsidize It?
J.D. Vance would like to give money to people for choices they're already making—without a workable plan to actually pay for it.
Some Bribes, as a Treat
Plus: Data center backlash, Anthropic job-loss predictions, and more...
The National Debt Has Crossed $40 Trillion. Both Parties Are Responsible.
And both are hiding behind a lie of omission.
How Much Will Andy Burnham's 'No. 10 North' Cost British Taxpayers?
Taxpayers have already paid $14,300 for branding the new office—and more than $1,300 for moving a replica Downing Street door to Manchester, according to a Freedom of Information request.
How Did America Get $40 Trillion in Debt?
Plus: Trump's trade war with Canada, the growing backlash against data centers, and calls to censor journalists in Britain
Planned New Battleships Come With a High Price Tag and an Uncertain Future
Large warships could prove to be expensive drone sponges without a clear mission.
$40 Trillion and Parents' Night Out
Plus: ICE chillin', Moderna-Merck melanoma advances, and more...
The DSA's Agenda Could Cost More Than $200 Trillion—and You'll Be Picking Up the Tab
The Democratic Socialists of America promise free everything, but its agenda would require confiscation on a scale that would make European welfare states tremble.
Trump Promised To End Foreign Aid. Now He's Giving Christian Groups Nearly $2 Billion.
The administration says faith-based organizations deliver aid more efficiently, but offers no data to support that claim—and its preference for religious providers raises constitutional questions.
D.C. Circuit Upholds Injunction Against Trump's Ballroom
The Constitution assigns control of federal property to Congress, which never approved the president's demolition and replacement of the East Wing.
DOGE Claimed $110 Billion in Spending Cuts That Couldn't Be Verified, Audit Finds
The DOGE project was the second Trump administration's best idea. Unfortunately, it was terribly executed.
Senators Want To Claw Back Trump's Spending Power. They Should Just Pass a Real Budget Instead.
The Senate’s funding bill stops the Trump administration from handing political appointees control over federal grants, but Congress isn’t eager to rein in spending.
Abdul El-Sayed's COVID Radicalism Is a Callback to a More United Party
The pandemic provided a glue that held the Democratic Party together. Without it, they don't know what they believe.
Why Does Trump Want To Give Millions of Dollars to Right-Wing Europeans?
Trump opposes foreign influence in American politics, but his State Department is offering millions of dollars to promote Western identity and opposition to “mass migration” abroad.
American Public Schools Lost 1.4 Million Students Since COVID. Their Budgets Grew by 34% Anyway.
Enrollment is down and so are achievement levels, yet spending is up 34 percent.
Britain's New Prime Minister Andy Burnham Promises 'Stronger Public Control' of Stagnating Economy
Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade inherits weak growth, record-high taxes, and a swelling welfare bill. His proposed cure is an even larger role for the state.
One Federal Agency's Unused Office Space Costs 'Hundreds of Millions of Dollars' Per Year
According to a new report, nearly 90 percent of the Department of Transportation's owned or leased buildings are more than half-empty.
California's Local Governments Want State Taxpayers To Pay More, More, More
California local governments of every size are crying poor as they struggle with budget shortfalls.
Congress Wants To Keep Funding a Pentagon That Won't Account for Its Spending
The only federal agency that has never passed an audit could soon get another $60 billion, even as it buries reports on the spiraling costs of its programs.
A 22% Social Security Cut Is Coming. Will the Senate Act?
Once the trust fund is empty, Social Security can pay out only what it collects. Yet few candidates are talking about this in any serious way.
States Will Soon Face Huge Penalties for Their Food Stamp Mistakes
More than $1 of every $10 in SNAP benefits went to people who didn't qualify in 2025.
How a 700-Year-Old Work of Art Warns America
Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Allegory of Good and Bad Government presents a bustling city where prosperity comes from voluntary cooperation and leaders know their place.
Washington Promised Puerto Rico $14 Billion To Fix Its Grid. Most of the Money Is Still Stuck.
A new GAO report attributes the delays to onerous regulations and poor coordination among government agencies.
The Social Security Fix That Would Send Tax Rates Soaring
There are only a handful of ways to shore up Social Security. Sens. Bernie Moreno and Elizabeth Warren are backing one of the most expensive.
Warren's Plan To 'Fix' Social Security Would Be Largest Tax Increase in Over 40 Years
Her plan is being pitched as a tax on the wealthy, but half the burden would fall on businesses. That would have dire consequences for the economy.
The New Transportation Bill Puts Special Interests Above Safety
Some safety recommendations are treated as essential—while others become negotiable once influential people object.
Elizabeth Warren Wants To Raise Taxes and Give All the Money to Senior Citizens
Her plan to fix Social Security's fiscal flaws would ask workers to cover the full cost. Some Republicans are supporting it too.
ICE Largely Abandons Plan To Turn Warehouses Into Migrant Detention Facilities
The Department of Homeland Security plans to sell or offload seven warehouses it originally purchased to house migrants.
Trump Has Used Taxpayer Money To Purchase Stakes in Dozens of Companies. Congress Is About to Make It Easier.
Lawmakers should be blocking Trump's corporate socialism, not making it a permanent fixture.
