Budget Battles
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Trump Promises More Bailout Cash for Farmers
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Elizabeth Warren Won the Debate. Will It Matter?
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How Medicare for All Is Tearing Democrats Apart
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Mike Bloomberg's Plan to Boost Social Security
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Court Strikes Down Trump Admin’s Medicaid Work Rules
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Pete Buttigieg’s Deficit Talk Scares the Left
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Deficit Soars 25% Over First Four Months of Fiscal 2020
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What's Missing From Mike Bloomberg’s Social Security Plan
Democratic presidential contender Mike Bloomberg rolled out a vague plan Sunday that calls for shoring up Social Security’s finances, expanding benefits for the poorest and creating a government-...
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The American Dream Alive and Well in ... Finland?
By Michael RaineyBernie Sanders’s opponents routinely accuse him of being a “socialist” bent on importing nefarious foreign values to the U.S., and President Trump took that approach one step further this past...
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Budget Deficit to Top $1 Trillion a Year for Next Decade: CBO
The U.S. budget deficit is expected to top $1 trillion in fiscal year 2020 and remain above that level indefinitely, lifting the national debt over the next decade to its highest level since World...
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The Next Big Fiscal Question: How to Raise More Revenue?
By Michael RaineyAn all-star roster of fiscal experts gathered at the Brookings Institution Tuesday to debate the future of American tax policy. The initial discussion featured former U.S. Treasury secretaries...
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The Trouble Ahead for Federal Trust Funds
By Michael RaineyThe aggregate balance of the hundreds of federal trust funds and other dedicated funds will start declining in two years, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office...
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Biden and Sanders Trade More Shots Over Social Security
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders continue to trade shots over Social Security. On Tuesday night, Sanders tweeted out an ad featuring an audio clip from a 1995 Biden Senate...
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Sanders and Biden Clash Over Social Security
With less than two weeks to go before the Iowa caucuses, Social Security has emerged as a major point of contention in the Democratic presidential primary. The fight: Sen. Bernie Sanders recently...
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Where the Democratic Candidates Stand on Social Security
By Michael RaineyWith Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden clashing over their plans for the program, Social Security has become a flashpoint for the Democratic presidential candidates as we head toward the Iowa caucuses...
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How to Raise More Than $1 Trillion for Social Security
By Michael RaineyOne of the more popular ideas for improving the finances of the Social Security system is to raise the maximum level of income that is exposed to FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) taxes...
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Chart of the Day: Record Low Poverty Rate
By Michael RaineyThe extensive array of government assistance programs — including Social Security, unemployment insurance, veterans’ benefits, nutritional aid, rental assistance and the Earned Income Tax Credit —...
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3 Ideas for Fixing Social Security
Social Security’s trustees reported earlier this year that the program will spend more than it collects in 2018 , requiring it to tap into its $2.9 trillion trust fund to cover benefit payments. It’s...
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Transfer Payments Hit $3 Trillion Annual Pace
By The Fiscal Times StaffTotal government transfers reached $3 trillion on an annualized basis for the first time in September, according to data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Monday. Transfer payments include...
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Democrats Take Aim at Republicans on Entitlement Cuts
By Michael RaineyDemocrats have a new sledgehammer of a study they can use in trying to link Republican tax cuts and proposed cuts to Medicare, Social Security and other social welfare programs. A report released...
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McConnell: Entitlement Cuts Probably Won’t Happen Under Trump
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) unleashed a storm of Democratic criticism earlier this week by telling Bloomberg News that rising deficits and debt are driven by Social Security,...
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Mitch McConnell on Rising Deficit: ‘It’s Not a Republican Problem'
The quotes: “It’s disappointing, but it’s not a Republican problem. It’s a bipartisan problem: unwillingness to address the real drivers of the debt by doing anything to adjust those programs to the...