Federal Budget

The Ryan Budget Fails to Effectively Address Economic Challenges, Unlike the 'Budget for All'

Andrew Fieldhouse | Posted 05.20.2012

Andrew Fieldhouse

A budget is much more than numbers and a bottom line; a budget should reflect national priorities. Unfortunately, the Ryan budget prioritizes sharply reducing spending and cutting taxes on the wealthy -- at the expense of good economic stewardship.

Senate Budget Plans Range From Extreme to Unimaginable

Deborah Weinstein | Posted 05.16.2012

Deborah Weinstein

Today, the Coalition on Human Needs sent a letter making these points to every senator. May 16, 2012 Dear Senator: Today you will have the opportun...

Alan Greenspan Says Thing, People Listen, For Some Reason

Mark Gongloff | Posted 05.01.2012

Mark Gongloff

Alan Greenspan said something about the budget deficit on Tuesday. The reason this is "news" is because it is shocking that Alan Greenspan is still allowed ever to speak publicly about matters of importance.

Budget Bunk: The Old Pox on Both Your Houses Game

Dean Baker | Posted 05.01.2012

Dean Baker

The economy did not regain the jobs lost in the 2001 recession until 2005, and even then it was on the back of another unsustainable bubble, this one in the housing market. And we know how that one ended.

No Work, No Pay

Ami Bera, MD | Posted 04.28.2012

Ami Bera, MD

If Americans struggling to make ends meet can make tough decisions to balance their books, why can't Congress?

AGHAST -- A Four-Year Review of Musings and Musings on the Present

Asher Edelman | Posted 04.19.2012

Asher Edelman

April 8, 2008 I said the financial system would need at least 100 times the $30 billion advertised by the Fed as the ultimate need to save the syst...

A Turning Point at Mars

Jim Bell | Posted 04.10.2012

Jim Bell

The time has come, from both a scientific and exploration standpoint, for NASA to embark on a robotic mission to bring rock and soil samples back from Mars, but the Agency -- and the administration -- appear to be shying away from the challenge.

Gridlock, Almost As Good As Greed

The Huffington Post | Mark Gongloff | Posted 04.09.2012

Gridlock is good. Maybe not as good as greed. But political gridlock in Washington is another, less-famous Wall Street favorite. And famous Wall S...

Jon Ward

Shift To Obama vs. Romney Marks End (Maybe) To Silly Season

HuffingtonPost.com | Jon Ward | Posted 04.06.2012

WASHINGTON -- The news Thursday was dominated by Democratic accusations that the Republican National Committee chairman compared women to caterpillars...

Government Spending on Autopilot: Prepare for the Crash

Lenwood Brooks | Posted 04.04.2012

Lenwood Brooks

Congress must take control of the federal budget process, which means taking responsibility for all spending programs to get the deficit under control. If Congress doesn't start relearning how to fly, we all need to be prepared for a fiscal crash.

Your Receipt, From This Guy

Emily Cohn | Posted 04.04.2012

Curious how your tax dollars are being spent by the federal government? Check your federal taxpayer receipt. The White House released an updated to...

Republican Budget Represents a Bleak Future for America

Rep. Steny Hoyer | Posted 05.30.2012

Rep. Steny Hoyer

All of us want to put America back on a sustainable fiscal path, but to do so everyone must be asked to pitch in. The Republican budget, however, places the entire burden of deficit reduction on the middle class, seniors, and the most vulnerable.

Non-cents! Pennies To Go Away

CP | Posted 05.29.2012

OTTAWA -- There may still be pennies from heaven, but they won't be coming from the mint much longer. The humble one-cent piece is set to disappea...

No Respect for Federal Workers

Max Stier | Posted 05.29.2012

Max Stier

It is time for our political leaders to focus on what it will take for government to succeed against a tide of increasing challenges and decreasing resources. More politically motivated quick wins are not the answer.

Deficit Estimate Hiked

AP | ANDREW TAYLOR | Posted 05.13.2012

WASHINGTON — A new estimate from congressional economists says the government will run a $1.2 trillion deficit for the budget year ending just a...

The Myth of the Out-of-Control Federal Government

Bob Greenstein | Posted 04.30.2012

Bob Greenstein

My colleague at the Center, Richard Kogan, authored a wonderful summary of our new report tackling the question, "Are the Size and Reach of the Federa...

The World's Leading Debtors and America's Exploding Debt Burden

Howard Steven Friedman | Posted 04.28.2012

Howard Steven Friedman

How do we increase federal revenue in ways that don't hurt the fragile economy? How do we control federal spending without stomping on the sprouts of economic growth?

SIFMA Hypocritically Protests CFTC User Fee Plan

Barbara Roper | Posted 04.23.2012

Barbara Roper

I'm left to wonder, what is the source of SIFMA's sudden cost-consciousness? Because I don't seem to recall ever having heard the association express similar alarm over the costs to investors of the $20 billion or so Wall Street manages to scrape together for bonuses each year.

Obama vs. Obama: One Budget, Two Competing Visions of the Future

Richard (RJ) Eskow | Posted 04.21.2012

Richard (RJ) Eskow

The Western world is divided between two visions of our economic future. One is of austerity and the other is of growth. One is of hope and possibility, the other of despair and cynicism. The battle between these two visions has divided the United States and the entire Western world.

Middle Class Health Sacrificed in Payroll Deal

Robert Ross | Posted 04.17.2012

Robert Ross

Alongside education and job growth, making disease prevention a priority in our health care system may be one of the most important investments we ca...

Entitlements Hysteria

Jeffrey Sachs | Posted 04.18.2012

Jeffrey Sachs

One of the unshakable myths of the punditariat is that the federal government is going bankrupt because of entitlements spending, especially spending on Medicare and Medicaid. This is a stampede of unreason, contradicted by the facts.

Obama Budget Plan Includes Big Boost Financial Regulators

Reuters | Posted 04.14.2012

* Obama seeks 18.5 percent FY13 budget boost for US SEC * Obama also asks for 50 percent budget boost for CFTC * DOJ would get $55 million m...

Bonnie Kavoussi

Bernanke: 'The Elephant In The Room Is Really Health Care Costs'

HuffingtonPost.com | Bonnie Kavoussi | Posted 02.02.2012

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Thursday that rising health care costs must be curbed if the U.S. government is to reduce the federal deb...

The Same Old Story

Steve Bell | Posted 04.01.2012

Steve Bell

The Congressional Budget Office's report today tells us nothing we don't already know. We have made promises we cannot keep. We have too little revenue from a tax code that is an embarrassment and retards economic growth.

The American Deficit: Where Do We Go From Here?

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 03.14.2012

Marian Wright Edelman

As another political season gets into full swing in the United States, a new crop of candidates are making a lot of promises about their competing visions of America. But how many TV debates are focusing on whether America is a compassionate nation?