The Debt

Deficit Hit $100 Billion in October

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The U.S. government spent $353 billion in October while revenues came in at $253 billion, producing a deficit of $100 billion. Receipts were 7 percent higher than a year ago, but spending was up 18...
What Should Democrats Do Now That They’ve Won the House?

By Michael Rainey

With Democrats winning control of the House Tuesday, political experts are lining up to give advice on what they should do with their new powers. While there’s little chance of enacting significant...
Two Wall Street Titans Warn About the Rising Risk of a Debt-Driven Crisis

By The Fiscal Times Staff

“[W]hen you have two of the most influential people in finance sounding the alarm over the same scenario, it’s probably time to start paying attention,” says Bloomberg’s Brian Chappatta . The two...
Visualizing the ‘Great Decoupling’

By Michael Rainey

The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell asked economist and data visualization specialist Jonathan Schwabish of the Urban Institute to create a chart that shows how unusual the large and growing...
As Deficit Soars, Trump Advisers Focus on Discretionary Spending Cuts

By Yuval Rosenberg

National Security Adviser John Bolton, speaking Wednesday at an event hosted by the Alexander Hamilton Society in Washington, warned that the national debt is a societal threat with security...

Trump Says He'll Start Paying Down the Debt. Here’s Why That’s Not Likely

By Michael Rainey

In a somewhat surprising statement on fiscal policy, President Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. will start reducing its more than $21 trillion national debt. "We're going to start paying down debt...
Who Owns US Debt?

By The Fiscal Times Staff

At Bloomberg , bond strategist David Ader suggests that, while there are plenty of threats that could drive interest rates higher, the idea that foreigners are pulling back from U.S. debt isn’t one...
US Treasury to Borrow More Than $1.3 Trillion in 2018

By Michael Rainey

The U.S. Treasury said Monday it expects to issue about $425 billion in debt this quarter, raising its 2018 borrowing to more than $1.3 trillion, a 145 percent increase from the $546 billion issued...
US Debt Issuance Headed for a Record High

By Michael Rainey

Bond traders expect the U.S. Treasury to announce record-setting debt sales at the end of the month, Bloomberg’s Liz McCormick says : “Many strategists at primary-dealer firms predict that the...
Most Americans Haven't Heard Much About the Rising Deficit

By Yuval Rosenberg

The Treasury Department’s announcement last week that the federal budget deficit grew 17 percent to $779 billion in fiscal 2018, the highest level in six years, was pretty big news around these parts...

Are Deficit Hawks Dead or Just Playing Possum?

By Yuval Rosenberg

“The deficits hawks are dead,” declared Paul Kane, The Washington Post’s senior congressional correspondent and columnist, in a piece over the weekend. It’s easy to see why Kane says that, and there’...
Why the Markets Aren’t Freaking Out About Soaring US Debt

By Yuval Rosenberg

Does the high and rising level of U.S. public debt matter? If so, how concerned should we be? Goldman Sachs asks those questions in a new research piece, noting that the “fiscal outlook for both...
Is Joe Scarborough Right About the GOP and the National Debt?

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Former GOP congressman and current Trump antagonist Joe Scarborough laid into the president and his party this week, finding fault with, among other things, their track record on deficit spending. "...
‘Things Are So Much Worse’ – but Does Anyone Care About the Deficit?

By Yuval Rosenberg

As we told you yesterday , the Congressional Budget Office estimated this week that the deficit for the first 11 months of fiscal 2018 totaled $895 billion, or $222 billion more than it was over the...
Deficit Soaring in 2018

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The federal deficit was 32 percent larger in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2018 than it was during the same time period in 2017, the Congressional Budget Office announced Monday. The deficit...