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...

Growth of US Debt Slows, but Record Levels Still Ahead

By Michael Rainey

The national debt will reach “unprecedented levels” over the next 30 years, according to the new long-term budget outlook released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office. Federal outlays will...
Is Big Government Making a Comeback?

By Michael Rainey

Recognizing a growing hostility toward major social welfare programs, President Bill Clinton famously announced that “the era of big government is over” back in 1996. Twenty years later, Democratic...
Fact Check: Trump Defends Rising Deficit and Debt

By Yuval Rosenberg

In an interview with ABC News, President Trump — who as a candidate in 2016 said he could eliminate the national debt in eight years or at least reduce it in chunks — defended its continued rise...
Pelosi Says No Debt Ceiling Hike Before a Spending Caps Deal

By Yuval Rosenberg

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that any deal to raise the debt ceiling will have to come as part of, or after, an agreement to raise spending caps and avoid automatic budget cuts set to...
How Washington Stopped Worrying About the Debt

By Michael Rainey

A major attitude shift has washed over Washington, The Wall Street Journal’s Kate Davidson and Jon Hilsenrath wrote Thursday: “Political support for taming federal debt has melted away.” Not so long...