Budget Battles
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Court Strikes Down Trump Admin’s Medicaid Work Rules
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Pete Buttigieg’s Deficit Talk Scares the Left
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Deficit Soars 25% Over First Four Months of Fiscal 2020
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The $844 Billion Mystery in Trump’s Budget
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Trump’s $4.8 Trillion Fiscal Fantasy
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Trump’s Company Charged Secret Service Hefty Rates
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Is the Trump Administration Gutting Medicaid?
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The American Dream Alive and Well in ... Finland?
By Michael RaineyBernie Sanders’s opponents routinely accuse him of being a “socialist” bent on importing nefarious foreign values to the U.S., and President Trump took that approach one step further this past...
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Budget Deficit to Top $1 Trillion a Year for Next Decade: CBO
The U.S. budget deficit is expected to top $1 trillion in fiscal year 2020 and remain above that level indefinitely, lifting the national debt over the next decade to its highest level since World...
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The Next Big Fiscal Question: How to Raise More Revenue?
By Michael RaineyAn all-star roster of fiscal experts gathered at the Brookings Institution Tuesday to debate the future of American tax policy. The initial discussion featured former U.S. Treasury secretaries...
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The Trouble Ahead for Federal Trust Funds
By Michael RaineyThe aggregate balance of the hundreds of federal trust funds and other dedicated funds will start declining in two years, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office...
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Biden and Sanders Trade More Shots Over Social Security
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders continue to trade shots over Social Security. On Tuesday night, Sanders tweeted out an ad featuring an audio clip from a 1995 Biden Senate...
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Sanders and Biden Clash Over Social Security
With less than two weeks to go before the Iowa caucuses, Social Security has emerged as a major point of contention in the Democratic presidential primary. The fight: Sen. Bernie Sanders recently...
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Where the Democratic Candidates Stand on Social Security
By Michael RaineyWith Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden clashing over their plans for the program, Social Security has become a flashpoint for the Democratic presidential candidates as we head toward the Iowa caucuses...
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How to Raise More Than $1 Trillion for Social Security
By Michael RaineyOne of the more popular ideas for improving the finances of the Social Security system is to raise the maximum level of income that is exposed to FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) taxes...
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Chart of the Day: Record Low Poverty Rate
By Michael RaineyThe extensive array of government assistance programs — including Social Security, unemployment insurance, veterans’ benefits, nutritional aid, rental assistance and the Earned Income Tax Credit —...
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Democrat's New Taxes Wouldn't Hit Just Billionaires
By Michael RaineySome Democratic tax proposals are focused on making millionaires and billionaires pay more, but other households would be affected as well. Neil Irwin of The New York Times points out Tuesday that...
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US Interest Costs Will Match Social Security Spending by 2048, CBO Says
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...
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Why the Social Security Disability Fund Is Looking Healthier
By Michael RaineyThe Social Security trustees’ report released earlier this month estimated that the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds will run out of reserves in 2032, four years later than expected. The...
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Do Deficit Hawks Have a Snowball’s Chance in Hell in Today’s Politics?
By Michael RaineyWhen Starbucks founder and executive chairman Howard Schultz announced his retirement earlier this week, he set off a round of speculation about a possible presidential run in 2020. Schultz has never...
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Medicare Finances Worsen, Social Security Will Tap Reserves for First Time in 36 Years
Medicare’s financial problems worsened last year while Social Security still faces a significant long-term financial crunch — and will need to tap into its reserves for the first time in 36 years,...
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Why More Retirees Are Waiting to Claim Social Security
By Michael RaineyRetirees are waiting longer to claim their Social Security benefits, reports Mark Miller of Reuters, with the number of early claimants dropping dramatically in recent years: “As recently as 2004,...