Most economists have trouble understanding why too much debt may harm an economy, let alone how much debt counts as too much. To make matters worse, the common practice of comparing vastly different countries’ debt-to-GDP levels is not a useful Global debt, according to a recent report by the Institute for International Finance, amounted to nearly $300 […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ahead of March 11th’s government funding deadline, U.S. Representatives Scott Peters (D-CA-52) and Jodey Arrington (R-TX-19) led 22 of their colleagues in a bipartisan letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, calling on House Leadership to get Congress’ fiscal house in order while crafting a new spending package for Fiscal Year 2022. “As we work […]
News flash from Washington: Congress is rushing to pass a bill it hasn’t read, full of earmarks and special favors for campaign donors. Where have we heard that before? Congress should use the omnibus to vacuum up its unnecessary spending, to control both our national debt and runaway inflation. Yeah, right. The House introduced the omnibus […]
There are five instances of the Treasury defaulting on the debt. Whenever the debate over raising the debt ceiling becomes heated, officials and pundits tell us the federal government has never defaulted on its debt. Unfortunately, this statement is demonstrably false. Evidence of these payment failures can be found in reputable academic and government publications. […]
The Build Back Better Act’s marquee provisions have been the focus, but Democrats have swept dozens of obscure measures and special interest breaks into the $1.85 trillion bill. The Democrats’ bill contains a $4.1 billion tax break for electric bicycle buyers, subsidizing 30 percent of the cost, up to $900, to help “put butts […]
The U.S. national debt exceeded $28 trillion in 2021.1 One thing that many people may not know is that the Social Security Trust Fund owns a significant portion of that national debt. So how does that work and what does it mean? Below we’ll dive into who actually owns the U.S. national debt and how that […]
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently released data on state and local government spending and receipts in the third quarter of 2021. Receipts are 23 percent above pre-pandemic levels and roughly 16 percent above their pre-pandemic trend in the three-month period from July through September, thanks to massive federal transfer payments from COVID relief legislation and […]
The late Senator Everett Dirksen once said, “A billion here and a billion there and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” More recently, Speaker Pelosi expounded, “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it.” While we do not yet have the final text of the Democrats’ “Build Back Better” […]
Last week President Biden signed legislation raising the nation’s borrowing limit by $480 billion, to $28.9 trillion, pushing the debt limit deadline off until approximately Dec. 3. While the debt ceiling is generally raised after partisan fanfare from both sides, it is never guaranteed to be raised, and fights over this matter have previously called the full faith and […]
Biden’s spending plan may obscure full price tag, analysis suggests Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., argues the Democrat’s massive spending bill will hurt small businesses and working families in the country. President Biden unveiled a revised framework last week for a modified social spending plan that imagines spending close to $1.75 trillion over the next decade, but a new […]
