The Debt

Business Economists Diss Trump’s Policies

By Yuval Rosenberg

Business economists are less than bullish on the effects of President Trump’s economic policies. A semiannual survey by the National Association for Business Economics found that: Tariffs are hurting...
Extending Tax Cuts and Spending Hikes Would Raise Debt to Record Level by 2029: CBO

By Yuval Rosenberg

The Congressional Budget Office, in its long-term outlook released in June, projected that federal debt held by the public would increase sharply over the next 30 years, climbing from 78 percent of...
The Deficit Is Up 20% This Year

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The federal deficit was 20 percent larger in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2018 than it was during the same time last year, the Congressional Budget Office announced Wednesday. Revenues rose 1...
$Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during an event to introduce the "Medicare for All Act of 2017\$

Putting a Price Tag on the Democratic Socialist Agenda

By Michael Rainey

A number of policy proposals associated with the “democratic socialist” agenda of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are gaining ground in the Democratic Party and will likely play a role in...
Here’s What’s at Stake in November: Tax Cuts, a Shutdown and Obamacare Repeal

By Michael Rainey

A lot can change over the next three months, but right now Democrats look likely to win control of the House of Representatives. They currently hold the lead in both generic ballot polls and the...

Buybacks Could Hit $1 Trillion This Year: Goldman Sachs

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Companies in the S&P 500 will likely authorize a record $1 trillion in stock buybacks in 2018, according to an estimate released by Goldman Sachs Friday. Buyback announcements have surged to $754...
Trump Says Tariff Revenue Will Help Pay Down National Debt. Here's the Real Math.

By Yuval Rosenberg

President Trump tweeted Sunday morning that his burgeoning trade wars with China and other countries will have a very specific benefit to the U.S.: bringing down the national debt. “Tariffs are...
Is Congress Headed for a Disaster Relief Showdown?

By Michael Rainey

Deficit hawks warn that soaring budget shortfalls and rising national debt will leave less fiscal space — or at least the perception of less fiscal space — for lawmakers to respond to the next...
Treasury Gears Up for a Borrowing Binge

By Michael Rainey

As the federal deficit rises, the U.S. Treasury plans to borrow $329 billion between July and the end of September, and another $440 billion in the last three months of the year. If those numbers...
Tax Cuts 2.0 Could Cost $600 Billion

By Michael Rainey

Republicans in the House released a brief outline of their proposed next round of tax cuts Tuesday. The two-page document calls for making the individual tax cuts and pass-through deductions, which...

Larry Kudlow, Trump’s Top Economic Adviser, Says the Deficit Is Falling. It Is Not.

By Yuval Rosenberg

Larry Kudlow, President Trump’s top economic adviser, said on the Fox Business Network Friday morning that the federal budget deficit is falling “rapidly.” In response to a Maria Bartiromo question...
US Interest Costs Will Match Social Security Spending by 2048, CBO Says

By Yuval Rosenberg

The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday confirmed what we already knew: The U.S. faces a rising tide of red ink, with the national debt as a share of the economy projected to nearly double over...
Bill Clinton’s Surplus Miracle, 20 Years Later

By Sheila Weinberg

Standing behind a podium in the Rose Garden, President Bill Clinton delivered a bold prediction 20 years ago. “Well ahead of the most ambitious schedule, America has balanced the budget,” he declared...
Forget Tax Cuts: Trump’s Immigration Policy Is Drowning Out GOP Issues

By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey

Republicans had planned to focus on the tax cuts this week as we approach the six-month anniversary of the Trump administration's major legislative achievement, the passage of the tax bill in...
The Politics Behind Permanent Trillion-Dollar Deficits

By Yuval Rosenberg

Budget Guy Stan Collender writes that budget deficits under the Trump administration are projected to hit $1 trillion in 2020 — and keep rising to $1.5 trillion in fiscal 2028. “But what’s most...