Budget Battles
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Pandemic Legislation Will Boost GDP by 4.7% This Year: CBO
By Michael RaineyThe 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 “...
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Biden’s Tax Plan: Who Really Would Pay More?
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...
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US Debt Costs Falling Even as Borrowing Soars
By Michael RaineyInterest 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...
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Deficit Hits $3 Trillion in 2020: CBO
By Michael RaineyThe 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...
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Reducing National Debt Will Be ‘Big Second-Term Priority’ for Trump, White House Says
By Michael RaineyDonald Trump famously declared while running for president that he would eliminate the national debt during two terms in office. "We're not a rich country. We're a debtor nation,” Trump told The...
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National Debt Will Exceed Size of Economy in 2021
By Michael RaineyThe CBO also updated its budget outlook Wednesday, estimating that the federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2020 would come in at $3.3 trillion, down from its previous estimate of $3.7 trillion...
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Once Again, Infrastructure?
By Michael RaineyReal interest rates are negative, which means the federal government is essentially getting paid to borrow money right now, once inflation is taken into account. Writing at Bloomberg Monday, Wall...
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US Debt Is Now Larger Than the Economy. Does It Matter?
By Michael RaineyThe national debt is now roughly the size of the U.S. economy, crossing a threshold that has long worried deficit hawks and many economists. At the end of 2019, the federal debt held by the public...
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Op-Ed of the Day: A Major Problem for the $26.5 Trillion National Debt
By Michael RaineyThe national debt is rapidly running higher as Congress spends trillions on coronavirus relief efforts, but James Clark, the deputy assistant secretary for federal finance in the Treasury Department...
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Is Joe Biden Still a Deficit Hawk?
As Joe Biden prepares to formally accept the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday, he’ll be looking to convince Americans that he, not President Trump, is best prepared to meet this moment in...
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Why Canceling Debt Held by China May Be ‘Worse Than Telling People to Drink Bleach’
As President Trump and his administration have ramped up criticisms of Beijing’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, The Washington Post reported Thursday evening that senior government officials...
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Fed’s Powell Says US Economy Will Need More Stimulus
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that both the central bank and Congress will likely need to do more to support the economy and promote a strong recovery from the coronavirus crisis...
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Is It Too Soon to Worry About the Deficit?
Congress has authorized some $3.6 trillion in federal spending and tax relief to combat the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic destruction — programs that will add about $2.5 trillion to the...
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Deficit Will Hit $3.7 Trillion This Year: CBO
By Michael RaineyIt’s pretty clear that the budget deficit will soar as the coronavirus wreaks havoc on the economy, but on Friday the Congressional Budget Office put a number on the expected shortfall in fiscal year...
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Pelosi's 'Expensive' Plan for More Coronvirus Aid
President Trump signed the $484 billion pandemic relief package into law on Friday, but even before the ink was dry lawmakers had already shifted their focus to the next phase of stimulus legislation...