Category: federal deficit

Rationality and Irrationality in the Debt-Ceiling Issue

Commentary Well, here we go again: For the next few months we’ll be witnessing what I call “the debt ceiling dance”—the same old back-and-forth rhetorical sallies (GOP: “We need to cut some spending”; Democrats: “Raise the limit unconditionally”). The ritual of the debt-ceiling dance is well known because we’ve been through it many times before….


White House Adviser Says ‘No’ to Spending Cuts, but ‘Yes’ to Tougher IRS Enforcement Discussions

A White House adviser said “no” to future spending cuts, but “yes” to tougher Internal Revenue Service enforcement talks. On Jan. 18, Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told MSNBC’s Katy Tur that the Biden administration does not think it is the right time for Congress to discuss government spending…


Rates Can Only Go Up

Commentary These are words I have heard my entire adult life. Every time rates drop, a lending professional always encourages me to take out the biggest loans I can, as rates will assuredly never be this low again. For the past 40 years, rates continued to fall, despite the opinion of many experts that rates…


Eight GOP Senators Demand CBO Inflation Report Before Voting on New Spending Bill

Eight conservative Republican senators are throwing up a potential roadblock as Congress races toward a March 11 deadline to pass a new omnibus spending bill or face the prospect of a government shutdown. “Last month, our nation hit a grave milestone, surpassing $30 trillion in federal debt. This steadily rising debt has been fueled by…


Finance Department Says Federal Deficit Hit $282.6 Billion in February

OTTAWA—The federal government says it ran a budgetary deficit of $282.6 billion through 11 months of its fiscal year as revenues dropped and pandemic aid continued to flow. The deficit from April to February compares to a deficit of $7 billion over the same period one year earlier. The government says in its monthly fiscal…


Pandemic Spending Sent Federal Deficit to $268 Billion in January, Feds Say

OTTAWA—The federal government says it ran a budgetary deficit of $268.2 billion through 10 months of its fiscal year as the treasury pumped out more pandemic aid. The deficit from April to January compares to a deficit of $10.6 billion over the same period one year earlier. The government says in its monthly fiscal monitor…