The federal budget has dominated the policy and political debate in Washington over the past three years. During this time, both the underlying fiscal landscape and the broader economic context for the debate have shifted in very important ways, yet the debate has remained remarkably static. Most policymakers seem to be stuck in 2010, as if nothing has changed in the years since. Read more» 
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In recent years we have been repeatedly warned that the federal government is on track to accumulate an unsustainable amount of debt over the next several decades. This debt, we’ve been told, will eventually crush our economy unless we drastically cut entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. But our long-term fiscal challenges are far less frightening than we have been led to believe. Read more»
Though the fiscal cliff deal passed by Congress late on New Year's Day will raise a substantial amount of new revenue over the next decade, the resulting revenue levels will still be significantly below what bipartisan experts believe we will need in the medium term and far lower than the last time the budget was balanced. Read more»
President Barack Obama several weeks ago laid out his budget proposal for fiscal year 2013. Now it’s the House Republicans’ turn to present their vision. Read more»
The federal budget deficit will again exceed $1 trillion this fiscal year, the CBO reported. That news is sure to trigger another round of condemnations from politicians and pundits who have a political or ideological interest in pinning these deficits on the domestic spending policies of President Obama. Read more»
Despite absolutely no evidence to support it, conservatives base their entire economic message on the empirically disproven notion that businesses aren't hiring because of regulatory burdens placed on them by the federal government. Read more»
On August 2, if Congress fails to raise the debt limit, the United States will have its credit rating downgraded, interest rates will likely rise dramatically, and the federal government will be forced to immediately cut nearly 40 percent from its budget, which could plunge the American economy back into a deep recession. Read more»
Conservatives believe that a key driver of overall job growth is the tax rate that rich people pay on their last dollar of income. Read more»
The notion that the United States is “broke” is a popular talking point for conservative lawmakers. They use the claim to justify cuts in government services for middle-class Americans and those with whom they have ideological quarrels. But we’re not broke. On the contrary, we have enormous economic resources at our disposal. Read more» 1
