The Debt
  • The Debt

Budget Battles

  • 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...

  • U.S. President Trump answers questions from the news media in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington

    Trump: ‘Boneheads’ at the Fed Should Drop Interest Rates to Zero, or Lower

    By Michael Rainey

    President Trump blasted the “boneheads” at the Federal Reserve Wednesday for failing to reduce interest rates to zero or below. “The Federal Reserve should get our interest rates down to ZERO, or...

  • Mark Sanford speaks at the LPAC conference in Chantilly, Virginia

    Trump Gets a Fiscally Focused Challenger

    By Michael Rainey

    Mark Sanford announced Sunday that he is running for president, becoming the third Republican to challenge President Trump for the nomination in 2020. The former South Carolina congressman said he...

  • As Debt Costs Rise, Governments Turn to Health Care for Savings

    By Michael Rainey

    High levels of government debt spur governments to rein in health care costs, according to a new report from economists at Goldman Sachs. And efforts to reduce health care inflation may help explain...

  • A photo illustration shows U.S. Dollar and euro banknotes in Vienna March 16, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader

    Chart of the Day: Comparing Debt Costs

    By The Fiscal Times Staff

    The U.S. stands out from other developed countries when it comes to the cost of its government debt. Bloomberg’s Justin Fox says that the interest burden of government debt is both larger in the U.S...

  • A sign marks the U.S Treasury Department in Washington

    Should the US Issue 100-Year Bonds?

    By Michael Rainey

    Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that the U.S. is considering issuing ultra-long U.S. bonds – debt in 50- or 100-year durations. “If the conditions are right, then I would anticipate...