Budget Battles
-
Republicans Want Strings Attached to California Disaster Aid
-
Biden Goes Out With a Bang in the Jobs Market
-
Trump Privately Pushes Senators for ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’
-
Trump Considers Declaring National Emergency for Tariff Rollout
-
Trump Unloads: Grievances, Greenland and the Gulf of Mexico
-
Republicans Divided Over How to Pass Trump’s Agenda
-
Trump Pushes Johnson to Victory as Speaker
-
Here’s What Happens If Congress Fails to Raise the Debt Ceiling
By Michael RaineyWhat happens if Congress fails to raise the debt limit? A new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center examines that question in detail, and the results aren’t pretty. Here are some highlights — or...
-
Why Raising the Debt Ceiling Won’t Be a Problem This Year
By Rob GarverThe final wall of resistance to a “clean” increase of the federal debt ceiling, necessary to avoid a potentially catastrophic government default later this year, appears to have fallen, with White...
-
Top GOP Conservative: We Won’t Play Around With the Debt Ceiling
By Rob GarverWhen it comes to the perennial fight to raise the federal debt ceiling, it’s usually best to assume that the struggle to give the Treasury Department clearance to actually pay the debts that the...
-
Raise the Debt Ceiling Now, or Face Another Post-Summer Crisis: Meadows
By Eric PianinRep. Mark Meadows, R-NC, one of the most influential conservatives in the House, said Monday he favors quick action this summer to raise the debt ceiling, taking a stand on an issue that is...
-
Here’s a Solution for the Annual Debt Ceiling Crisis: Get Rid of It
By Eric PianinWith another debt ceiling crisis looming that threatens a first-ever default by the Treasury and another government shutdown, there is a growing school of thought in the Senate that lawmakers should...
-
The National Debt Is a Bigger Problem Than You Think
By Lawrence GoodmanThe U.S. debt situation is worse than commonly realized. Unaddressed, the surge in Treasury borrowing over the last 10 years represents an accident in the offing.
-
Mulvaney’s Debt Ceiling Ploy Protects Treasurys, Not Social Security Checks
By Rob GarverThe Trump administration appears to be considering a plan to pay some government debts but not others if the debt ceiling isn’t raised on time. It’s a plan economists and financial markets experts...
-
White House’s Debt Ceiling Battle Could Trigger a Shutdown — and a Recession
By Eric PianinAt a time when worldwide confidence in the U.S. has already been badly shaken by President Trump’s go-it-alone, “America First” approach to trade, NATO and climate change, a White House riven by...
-
New Debt Ceiling Deadline Could Ruin Lawmakers' Summer Vacations
By Rob GarverThe federal debt limit, previously thought to be an issue that could be postponed to the fall, may need to be raised prior to the August recess, complicating the lives of top Republicans in Congress.
-
The Great Risk Shift Is Back
By Mark ThomaThe vote in the House of Representatives to dismantle Obamacare was not the only attempt to undo key legislation from the Obama years that occurred last Thursday.
-
What Does a Trillion Really Look Like?
By David Cay Johnston, Columbia-Journalism-ReviewThroughout the weeks of intense coverage over the scheduled end of the Bush income tax cuts and the Obama payroll tax cut, reporters routinely cited dollar estimates in the millions, billions, and...
-
Cliff Deal May Have Set Back Tax Reform for Good
By Josh Boak, The Fiscal TimesPresident Obama and congressional Republicans are both hyping the chances for tax reform this year, but several signs suggest it’s already time to craft an obituary for this perennial initiative...
-
Deductions that Reward the Worst Managed States
By Liz PeekWhy not do away with the deduction for state and local taxes? This loophole cost the country $46.5 billion in lost revenue in fiscal 2011, and essentially rewards the fiscal mismanagement of high-tax...
-
More Popular Than Congress: Cockroaches, Traffic, Root Canals
By The Fiscal Times StaffAccording to a new poll -- and facing low approval ratings after a historically unproductive 112th session and a series of last-minute showdowns over fiscal matters -- Congress is now less popular...
-
Debt Ceiling End Game: Who Gets Paid, Who Gets Bilked?
By Eric PianinWith the Obama administration and Congress headed for another debt ceiling showdown, the Treasury could soon exhaust its borrowing authority and be forced to pick and choose between paying interest...