Budget

Chart of the Day: How Taxes and Transfers Affect US Incomes

By Michael Rainey

A new analysis of the distribution of household income by the Congressional Budget Office shows how taxes and means-tested transfers such as Medicaid and food stamps affect US incomes. “The combined...
Improving Odds for the Farm Bill

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The Farm Bill has been held up by a dispute over new work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, among other issues. House Republicans passed a bill that includes...
Build That Wall? The Next Budget Battle Ahead

By Michael Rainey

Congress reconvenes for a lame-duck session next week and funding for President Trump’s border wall with Mexico will be front and center as lawmakers turn to unsettled budget items for the current...
Fiscal Mayhem Ahead in 2019 — and 5 Other Takes on the Election Results

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Prepare for budget mayhem: “The budget bottom line is simple: Senate Republicans will have a very different fiscal agenda than House Democrats, and both houses’ tax and spending to-do lists will be...
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...

3 Areas Where Trump and Democrats Can Maybe, Possibly Work Together

By Yuval Rosenberg

Will divided government lead to anything beyond more legislative gridlock? President Trump and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, the presumptive next speaker of the House, have both spoken...
5 Tax and Spending Takeaways from the Midterm Elections

By Michael Rainey

Tuesday’s election results changed the outlook for some key tax and spending proposals. Here are 5 takeaways from the midterm vote: 1. The GOP’s “tax cuts 2.0” effort is dead. The Republican plan to...
Why the Midterms Could Kill Trump's Space Force

By Michael Rainey

The fate of President Trump’s new military branch could depend on the outcomes of the midterm elections, says Joe Gould of Defense News. The Pentagon is working on a plan to create the Space Force,...
Pentagon’s Revolving Door in Full Swing

By Michael Rainey

The steady stream of top military officials moving from the Pentagon to defense contractors shows no signs of slowing down, according to a new report from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO),...
How Congress Got So Broken

By Yuval Rosenberg

The founders of the United States envisioned Congress as a co-equal branch of government, but that model of government “is effectively dead,” a new analysis by The Washington Post and ProPublica...

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...
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...
A Balance Sheet for the Pentagon

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The Department of Defense initiated its first financial statement audit last December – “the largest and most complex financial audit ever,” according to a recent DoD report on military spending in...
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...