President

Budget Battles

  • Why a Fiscal Cliff Deal Could Cripple the Economy

    By Josh Boak and Eric Pianin, The Fiscal Times

    The U.S. economy has been riding along for the past four years with government-supplied training wheels. More than $1 trillion of emergency stimulus measures have kept the economy upright, though...

  • Cliff Talks: Boehner Bends on Taxes and Debt Limit

    By Eric Pianin

    In his fiscal cliff negotiations with President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner has made major concessions on raising the tax rates on the richest Americans and extending the Treasury's borrowing...

  • Federal Fiscal Pain Trickles Down to States

    By Michael A. Fletcher, The Washington Post

    Just as state governments are healing from the deep fiscal wound inflicted by the Great Recession, they are confronted by the dual threat of reduced federal help and ever increasing health-care costs...

  • How to Shrink the Defense Budget and Come Out Winning

    By William Matthews, The Fiscal Times

    The U.S. military is going to shrink, that much is clear. Whether it will be harmful or helpful is less certain. Shedding unneeded troops, surplus bases and 20th century weapons could be a good thing.

  • The Alarming Corruption of the Think Tanks

    By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

    Item: U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) resigns from Congress to become president of the Heritage Foundation Item: Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey resigns as chairman of FreedomWorks over $12...