Budget

Why Some Republicans Are Resisting Trump's Spending Cuts

By Yuval Rosenberg

Democrats have taken issue with President Trump’s proposed spending cuts, and some Republicans have serious concerns as well. “We never anticipated the kind of pushback we would have in our own...
Mulvaney: Democratic Criticism of CHIP Clawbacks Is Pure Hypocrisy

By Yuval Rosenberg

Mick Mulvaney is firing back at Democratic critics of the White House’s plan to cut $15.4 billion in spending, including $7 billion in unspent funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. In...
Sports Gambling May Not Be a Jackpot for States

By Elaine S. Povich, Stateline

Some states were getting ready to jump into sports gambling even before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized it last week, lining up legislation that would allow their states to cash in as quickly as...
Rates on US Bonds Now Higher Than for Other Developed Countries

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Rising interest rates in the U.S. have pushed the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds higher than the yields for similar government bonds from seven major developed countries for the first times since...
More NATO Nations Meeting the 2% Pledge

By Michael Rainey

President Trump met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last week, offering the president an opportunity to highlight recent increases in military spending in Europe. “[W]e’ve increased and...

3 Big Risks the US Faces as Debt Levels Soar

By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey

In a new note to clients, Goldman Sachs economists say that U.S. fiscal outlook “is not good.” If you’re reading this you likely already knew that the picture isn’t pretty — but the new Goldman Sachs...
Farm Bill Failure Underscores a Divided GOP

By Yuval Rosenberg

The House on Friday failed to pass an $867 billion farm bill after conservatives withheld their support as part of a simmering internal fight over immigration. The vote was 198-213, with 30...
US Fertility Just Hit a 30-Year Low. Why That's a Problem for Social Security

By Michael Rainey

Births in the U.S. fell to a multi-decade low last year, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics released Tuesday. The provisional estimate shows 3.85 million births in the U...
What the War on Terror Has Cost Since 9/11

By Michael Rainey

The U.S. has spent roughly $2.8 trillion fighting terrorism since 9/11, according to a new analysis from the nonpartisan Stimson Center, a think tank focused on security issues. A study group at the...
Want to Balance the Budget? We’ll Need 5% Growth to Get There

By Michael Rainey

The federal government will start spending $1 trillion more than it raises in taxes in 2019, and the deficit is expected to remain above that level for the foreseeable future. It’s widely agreed that...

Record Budget Surplus in April

By Michael Rainey

It may seem a bit odd to talk about a budget surplus at a time of soaring deficits, but tax receipts are coming in stronger than expected in April and the Congressional Budget Office is now...
Trump Administration’s Spending Cut Plan: $15 Billion — with More Coming

By Yuval Rosenberg

The Trump administration’s proposed package of “rescission” spending cuts meant to quell conservative anger about rising deficits will be a bit bigger than previously expected. The Washington Post...
US Still Leads the World in Military Spending

By Michael Rainey

The U.S. has long spent more on its military than any other country in the world, and that trend continued in 2017, according to a new report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute...
White House Will Ask for $11 Billion in Spending Cuts: Reports

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The Republican plan to scale back federal spending has itself been scaled back. Politico reports that a package of spending cuts totaling $11 billion will be released early next week. The proposed...
Treasury Borrowing Hits Record to Start the Year

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The U.S. borrowed $488 billion in the first three months of 2018, according to a Treasury statement Monday, $47 billion more than projected back in January. The final amount sets a new record for the...