Budget

Will the Fed Take the Punch Bowl Away?

By Michael Rainey

Although weaker public-sector spending may help explain the slow-growth rut the U.S. has found itself in over the last decade, most economists say that the extraordinary deficit-financed stimulus at...
Government Has Been a Drag on the Economy – but That’s About to Change

By Yuval Rosenberg

The U.S. economy is about a year away from breaking the 1990s record for the longest expansion in U.S. history — and yet the recovery from the Great Recession has also been among the weakest growth...
Trump’s Military Parade Cost Estimate: $12 Million

By Michael Rainey

President Trump’s military parade this fall will cost about $12 million, according to estimates provided by Pentagon officials Wednesday. The "military-themed Veterans Day Parade" is still in the...
Who Should Foot the Bill for a Secure Election System?

By Yuval Rosenberg

In a party-line vote, House Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democratic effort to boost election security funding. The vote was on a procedural motion by Democrats intended to add $380 million for...
A Warning About the Next Economic Crisis from Leaders Who Battled the Last One

By Yuval Rosenberg

Three top officials who helped steer the U.S. through the financial crisis a decade ago warned Tuesday that, while the banking system has clearly been strengthened, policymakers might find it harder...

Kudlow: Tax Cuts 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 May Be Coming

By Yuval Rosenberg

Larry Kudlow, director of President Trump’s National Economic Council, sat down for a wide-ranging interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer Wednesday morning in New York. Kudlow made headlines last month by...
The White House Makes a ‘Trillion-Dollar Admission’

By Yuval Rosenberg

The White House Office of Management and Budget on Friday released its updated annual budget request , known as the mid-session review. The numbers don’t mean much given that the president’s budget...
Lawmakers Battle Over Veterans Health Funding

By Yuval Rosenberg

A complicated fight over spending on a veterans health program is throwing a wrench into the congressional appropriations process for 2019. The showdown could force lawmakers to fall back on another...
F-35 Price Drops Below $90 Million: Report

By Michael Rainey

The Pentagon has made a preliminary deal with Lockheed Martin for the next batch of F-35 stealth jets, according to a Reuters report from the Farnborough Airshow in England. The “handshake agreement...
The US Now Spends $1 Billion a Year Detaining Immigrant Kids

By Yuval Rosenberg

Detaining immigrant children has become a $1 billion business, the Associated Press reported Friday. Grants from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “for shelters, foster care and other...

Do Deficit Hawks Have a Snowball’s Chance in Hell in Today’s Politics?

By Michael Rainey

When 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...
Boomers vs. Kids: Federal Spending on Children Is Falling

By Yuval Rosenberg

“The future depends on what we do in the present,” Mahatma Gandhi once said (at least according to the Internet). If so, a new report suggests we’re headed for some trouble, as the federal government...
Are Democrats the Party of Fiscal Responsibility? A Debate

By Michael Rainey

Talking to CNBC on Tuesday about his concerns that Democrats are going too far left with policy proposals such as a job guarantee and single-payer health care, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz said...
Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

By Michael Rainey

The federal budget is on an unstable path in the long run and the Trump administration has made things worse with its tax cuts and spending increases, warn C. Eugene Steuerle and Caleb Quakenbush of...
Watchdog Says Pentagon Should Hold Off on Full F-35 Production

By Michael Rainey

The Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin are eager to ramp up production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but a congressional watchdog is warning that full production should wait until hundreds...