Budget Battles
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Dems Ready to Go It Alone on Massive Covid Relief Bill
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Republicans Hammer Biden’s Big Stimulus Plan
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Biden Unveils ‘Wartime’ Covid Response Plan
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Biden Signs 17 Executive Actions on Day 1
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Yellen Tells Congress to ‘Act Big’ to Rescue the Economy
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Trump's Legacy: $7.8 Trillion Rise in Debt
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Biden Unveils $1.9 Trillion ‘American Rescue Plan’
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What Trump and Biden Would Mean for Social Security
After years of warnings about the financial challenges facing Social Security, the coronavirus pandemic and its economic effects mean that the time to get serious about ensuring that full benefits...
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Trump’s Payroll Tax Plan Fizzles
President Trump’s payroll tax deferral plan is fizzling. The plan , meant to boost workers’ incomes by allowing their employers to postpone collection of the 6.2% employee share of the tax funding...
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Social Security Trust Fund Depleted by 2031: CBO
By Michael RaineyThe Social Security Old Age and Survivors Insurance fund will be depleted by 2031, according to a report released Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO said the surplus in the fund,...
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Trump’s Payroll Tax Deferral Gets Rolling
By Michael RaineyThe IRS issued guidance late Friday that provides details on President Trump’s executive action to allow employers to stop collecting Social Security taxes for employees starting September 1 through...
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Trump’s Payroll Tax Plan Is Hung Up in a Dispute With the IRS: Report
By Michael RaineyPresident Trump’s effort to suspend employee Social Security taxes starting September 1 is hung up over a dispute over who should be responsible for making the tax payments once the suspension is...
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Terminating Payroll Tax Could Wipe Out Social Security by 2023, Chief Actuary Says
Eliminating payroll taxes could drain the Social Security trust funds within a few years if no alternative source of funding is provided, the Social Security Administration’s chief actuary said in a...
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Biden Bashes Trump on Social Security, Taxes and Health Care
By Michael RaineyJoe Biden’s well-received acceptance speech for the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night may have emphasized his differences with President Donald Trump —with a heavy focus on personal...
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What's in the GOP's New Coronavirus Relief Plan?
Congress is back in Washington this week and getting down to the difficult task of negotiating the next, and potentially final, coronavirus relief package. The parties are far apart, with House...
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Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Wants Next Coronavirus Bill to Address Rising Debt
Congress is likely to pass another coronavirus relief bill at some point, but doing so may require addressing the mounting deficit concerns of a bipartisan group of lawmakers. A group of 60 House...
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A Look at America’s ‘Broken Retirement System’
By Michael RaineyMillions of baby boomers are discovering that getting older isn’t getting any easier, thanks in part to a retirement system that fails to deliver security for millions of Americans. “Every day, 10,...
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The US in Decline: What Americans Fear for the Future
A Pew Research Center report published Thursday shows how staggeringly pessimistic Americans are about where the country is heading. “When Americans peer 30 years into the future, they see a country...
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Anxious and Suspicious, Citizens in Wealthy Countries Want Stronger Safety Nets
By Michael RaineyPeople living in some of the wealthiest countries in the world are worried about their economic futures and don’t trust government programs to provide much help if and when they need it, according to...
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What Americans Want to Do with Money Raised by Taxing the Rich
Voters support higher taxes on the rich. But what do they want done with the revenue those taxes would raise? A new Morning Consult-Politico poll asked about a range of options. First, we should note...
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How Old Is Old?
By Michael RaineyThe average age of the U.S. population is rising as the baby boomers sail into their golden years, but a statistically older population may not be as problematic as some experts think. According to a...
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Chart of the Day: High Tax, High Service
By Michael RaineyCan the U.S. afford to dramatically increase public spending on a whole host of new programs, potentially including Medicare for All, expanded Social Security and a massive Green New Deal? That...