The Debt
  • The Debt

Budget Battles

  • Dome of the U.S. Capitol Building

    Why Big Deficits Are Here to Stay (for Now)

    By Michael Rainey

    From billions in income supplements for households to trillions in guaranteed loans for businesses, fiscal policy has taken a central role in the government’s response to the Covid recession...

  • The American Flag flies at the U.S. Capitol Building, as Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a State of Emergency due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on Capitol Hill in Washington

    Cost of Interest on National Debt Falls Despite Surging Deficit: CBO

    By Michael Rainey

    The federal government estimates that it has paid billions of dollars less in interest on the national debt in the 2020 fiscal year, despite an increase in the size of the national debt on an annual...

  • Deficit Tops $3 Trillion in 2020: CBO

    By Michael Rainey

    The federal budget deficit rose to a record-breaking $3.1 trillion in fiscal year 2020, according to estimates released by the Congressional Budget Office Thursday. Even before the coronavirus crisis...

  • District of Columbia

    Both Trump and Biden Plans Would Push Debt Higher: CRFB

    By The Fiscal Times Staff

    Each set of proposals laid out in the campaigns of President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden would increase the national debt by about $5 trillion over a decade, according to a new analysis...

  • ‘Doomed to Fail’: Why a $4 Trillion Bailout May Not Be Enough

    By Michael Rainey

    The roughly $4 trillion spent in response to the coronavirus pandemic has become the costliest economic rescue effort in U.S. history, surpassing even the staggering cost of 18 years of war in...

  • District of Columbia

    Debt Will Nearly Double by 2050: CBO

    By Michael Rainey

    The national debt will increase to about twice the size of the economy over the next 30 years, the Congressional Budget Office said Monday in its latest long-term budget outlook . Currently equal to...

  • FILE PHOTO: George Washington is seen with printed medical mask on the one Dollar banknotes in this illustration taken

    Pandemic Legislation Will Boost GDP by 4.7% This Year: CBO

    By Michael Rainey

    The four major laws passed by Congress to address the coronavirus pandemic will boost real domestic gross product by 4.7% in 2020 and 3.1% in 2021, the Congressional Budget Office said Friday. The “...

  • Biden’s Tax Plan: Who Really Would Pay More?

    By Yuval Rosenberg

    Joe Biden’s tax plan would have high earners paying significantly more, with the top 1% of households shouldering 80% of the increase while those earning less than $400 would see no change on average...

  • The American Flag flies at the U.S. Capitol Building, as Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a State of Emergency due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on Capitol Hill in Washington

    US Debt Costs Falling Even as Borrowing Soars

    By Michael Rainey

    Interest costs on the national debt have fallen about 10% this fiscal year, even as the amount of debt issued by the U.S. Treasury has hit record levels, Bloomberg reported Friday. And over the next...

  • District of Columbia

    Deficit Hits $3 Trillion in 2020: CBO

    By Michael Rainey

    The federal budget deficit was $198 billion in August, the Congressional Budget Office projected on Wednesday, bringing the deficit for the first 11 months of the 2020 fiscal year to $3 trillion. The...

  • Senator Kamala Harris speaks during the second night of the first U.S. 2020 presidential election Democratic candidates debate in Miami, Florida, U.S.

    Kamala Harris Smacked Down a Question on How to Pay for Progressive Agenda

    By Yuval Rosenberg

    Sen. Kamala Harris shook up the Democratic presidential primaries with her debate performance Thursday night. She’s widely seen as the clear winner from the second night of the debates, having...

  • <strong>The biggest risk is losing money in the market.</strong><br/><br/>Over time, it's almost impossible to avoid losing money in the market, even for the best stock picker. But the greater risk is outliving your savings. Unless you expect to die in th

    Zero Interest Rates Ahead?

    By Michael Rainey

    Reflecting on the latest budget projections from the Congressional Budget Office, which show relentlessly rising debt and interest costs over the next 30 years, Bloomberg’s Noah Smith says that one...

  • A cyclist passes the U.S. Capitol in Washington

    Growth of US Debt Slows, but Record Levels Still Ahead

    By Michael Rainey

    The national debt will reach “unprecedented levels” over the next 30 years, according to the new long-term budget outlook released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office. Federal outlays will...

  • Is Big Government Making a Comeback?

    By Michael Rainey

    Recognizing a growing hostility toward major social welfare programs, President Bill Clinton famously announced that “the era of big government is over” back in 1996. Twenty years later, Democratic...

  • U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for an event honoring 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano in Washington

    Fact Check: Trump Defends Rising Deficit and Debt

    By Yuval Rosenberg

    In an interview with ABC News, President Trump — who as a candidate in 2016 said he could eliminate the national debt in eight years or at least reduce it in chunks — defended its continued rise...