Budget

Why Trump May Opt for a Shutdown

By Michael Rainey

President Trump’s abrupt criticism of a key spending bill yesterday has some political prognosticators saying there’s a real possibility of a government shutdown in the next 10 days. The Senate bill...
Trump Blasts ‘Ridiculous’ Spending Bill: Is a Shutdown Back on the Table?

By Michael Rainey

President Trump on Thursday blasted the spending bill passed by the Senate earlier this week for its lack of funding for his border wall with Mexico. The bill is a key part of the congressional...
Spending Bills Leave Conservatives Frustrated

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Lawmakers have been passing spending bills with unusual speed and little fanfare lately, most recently the $854 billion package covering the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor...
Senate Approves Spending Bill, Reducing Chances of a Shutdown

By Yuval Rosenberg

In a 93-7 vote, the Senate on Tuesday passed a package of spending bills that would boost fiscal 2019 funding for the Defense Department and provide full-year funding for the departments of Education...
‘Beware Trillion-Dollar Deficits,’ Barron’s Says

By Yuval Rosenberg

In the latest Barron’s cover story, Jack Hough warns of the long-term risks of rising U.S. public debt. While noting that there’s little chance of hitting debt-related turbulence anytime soon and...

The Air Force Wants More Planes – and a Lot More Money

By Michael Rainey

The Air Force is 71 years old today, and its birthday wish list is a doozy. Saying that growing threats from China and Russia call for a substantial increase in U.S. air power, Air Force Secretary...
Kudlow: ‘I Don’t Buy’ That Tax Cuts Boosted Deficit

By Yuval Rosenberg

Larry Kudlow is at it again. Speaking at the Economic Club of New York, the top economic adviser to President Trump said that, while the administration is looking to cut federal spending — including...
Are Deficit Hawks Dead or Just Playing Possum?

By Yuval Rosenberg

“The deficits hawks are dead,” declared Paul Kane, The Washington Post’s senior congressional correspondent and columnist, in a piece over the weekend. It’s easy to see why Kane says that, and there’...
Social Security Pulled 27 Million People Out of Poverty in 2017

By Michael Rainey

Since 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau has produced a more sophisticated measure of poverty that, among other things, includes the income effects of government assistance programs such as Social Security...
Arkansas Drops Thousands from Medicaid

By Michael Rainey

More than 4,000 people will lose their Medicaid coverage in Arkansas for failing to meet the state’s new work requirements. Earlier this year, the Trump administration approved the new work rules,...

Is Congress Headed for a Disaster Relief Showdown?

By Michael Rainey

Deficit hawks warn that soaring budget shortfalls and rising national debt will leave less fiscal space — or at least the perception of less fiscal space — for lawmakers to respond to the next...
Fiscal Policy Gives the Economy a Boost

By Michael Rainey

Federal, state and local fiscal policies boosted GDP growth by 0.6 percentage points in the second quarter, according to an analysis by the Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy at the...
Public Pensions Face a $5 Trillion Hole

By The Fiscal Times Staff

“Many cities and states can no longer afford the unsustainable retirement promises made to millions of public workers over many years,” writes The Wall Street Journal’s Sarah Krouse . “By one...
Pentagon Plans Liftoff for Space Force

By Michael Rainey

Congress failed to provide funding for President Trump’s “Space Force” in its 2019 defense spending bill , but that hasn’t stopped the Pentagon from working on a plan for the new military agency. The...
How to Interpret Trump's Surprise Government Shutdown Threat

By Yuval Rosenberg

Surprise! President Donald Trump is once again threatening to shut down the government over his desire for stricter immigration policies and funding for a border wall with Mexico. “I would be willing...