The Debt

The Fiscal Challenge for the Next Recession

By Yuval Rosenberg

The federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2019 was nearly $1 trillion. “In the next downturn, don’t be surprised if this number hits $2 trillion,” writes Nick Timiraos, The Wall Street Journal’s...
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...

7 Ways to Fix America’s Fiscal Mess

By Yuval Rosenberg

Tackling the $22 trillion national debt can be done in very different ways. Underscoring that point, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan organization focused on increasing...
Trump Blows Up Infrastructure Meeting with Pelosi, Schumer

By Yuval Rosenberg

Infrastructure was supposed to be one of the few areas with some potential for bipartisan action before the 2020 election. So much for that. Any potential now appears to be all but extinguished after...
Why the Federal Reserve Is Expected to Buy Trillions More in US Debt

By Michael Rainey

The Federal Reserve Bank is selling off about $1 trillion worth of mortgage-backed securities it acquired in the wake of the financial crisis as it brings its qualitative easing program to a close,...
How Trump Paved the Way for Democrats’ Trillion-Dollar Plans

By Yuval Rosenberg

When the incoming Obama administration was looking to put together a stimulus package during the financial crisis a decade ago, the optimal size of the proposal was the subject of considerable debate...
Trump Budget Would Raise Deficits by $2.7 Trillion More Than White House Said: CBO

By Yuval Rosenberg

A Congressional Budget Office analysis of president Trump’s proposed 2020 budget finds that it would lead to $9.9 trillion in cumulative deficits over 10 years — about $2.7 trillion more than the...