The Debt

Does the Deficit Matter? Congress Asks Four Top Economists

By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey

Wednesday’s impeachment hearings will rightly dominate headlines given the bombshells in Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s testimony, but they weren’t the only hearings happening in Congress. The House...
How the Deficit Looms Over the Democratic Presidential Race

By Yuval Rosenberg

Democrats are set to hold another presidential primary debate Wednesday night, and if the pattern from past debates holds true, we’ll likely hear the 10 candidates on stage talk a lot about health...
Rethinking the Debt Threat: House Panel to Hold Hearing Next Week

By Yuval Rosenberg

The House Budget Committee will hold a hearing next week examining the costs and consequences of federal debt, with four prominent economists slated to testify. Ahead of the hearing, Democratic...
Cost of Wars Since 9/11: $6.4 Trillion and Rising

By Michael Rainey

The total cost of the wars fought since 9/11 is approaching $6.4 trillion, according to an annual report published Wednesday by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown...
National Debt Hits $23 Trillion

By Michael Rainey

Total federal debt has surpassed $23 trillion for the first time, according to data released by the Treasury Department Friday. Of that amount, $17 trillion is debt held by the public, which is...

Two Takes on Republican Debt Hypocrisy

By Yuval Rosenberg

The federal deficit for fiscal 2019 was nearly $1 trillion, and the national debt is going to hit $23 trillion within a matter of days. President Trump once said he would eliminate the national debt...
The Budget Outlook Isn’t Good — but It Has ‘Improved Substantially Since 2010’: Report

By Yuval Rosenberg

The national debt is now approaching $23 trillion, up nearly $9 trillion from the end of 2010, and the debt held by the public now stands at nearly $17 trillion, up about $7.5 trillion from since the...
2019 Deficit Was Just Under $1 Trillion, Highest in 7 Years: CBO

By Yuval Rosenberg

The federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2019 grew to $984 billion, or 4.7% of GDP, the highest since 2012, the Congressional Budget Office estimated on Monday. The total for 2019 is 26% higher...
McCarthy Says Debt Will Be ‘Taken Care of’ if GOP Wins the House

By Michael Rainey

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Thursday that the national debt would be his top priority if Republicans succeed in retaking the House in 2020. “First thing we would do is make sure our debt is...
Mnuchin Says Treasury Is ‘Seriously Considering’ a 50-Year Bond

By Michael Rainey

Asked about President Trump’s recent suggestion that the U.S. should “refinance” its debt at lower interest rates over a longer time horizon, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday his...

We May Need ‘Helicopter Money’ to Fight the Next Downturn: Report

By Michael Rainey

The next recession will call for unprecedented coordination of fiscal and monetary policy in the U.S. and other advanced economies, according to a new report from the BlackRock Investment Institute...
Why the US Should ‘Borrow Gobs of Cash’ Right Now

By Yuval Rosenberg

Investors worried about the health of the global economy continued to scramble to the safety of U.S. bonds on Thursday, driving the yield on 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds below 2% for the first time...
A $1 Trillion Deficit Is Bad. The Reality Is Much Worse.

By Chuck Chokel

President Trump’s signing of a two-year budget deal earlier this month may have averted the chances of another government shutdown before the 2020 election, but it certainly added to the exposure of...
2019 Budget Deficit Rises to $867 Billion, Up 27% from Last Year

By Yuval Rosenberg

The U.S. budget deficit rose to $866.8 billion through the first 10 months of the fiscal year, up 27% from the same period in 2018, the Treasury Department said Monday. The deficit for all of 2018...
Was the Budget Control Act a ‘Colossal Failure’?

By Yuval Rosenberg

The two-year budget deal passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump earlier this month lifted spending caps for the next two years imposed under the 2011 Budget Control Act,...