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...

Foreign Ownership of US Debt Continues to Decline

By Michael Rainey

Foreign demand for U.S. government debt has been declining in recent years but domestic investors have picked up the slack, The Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Kruger and Kate Davidson reported...
SOTU 2019: 3 Important Things Trump Said, and 1 Big Thing He Didn’t

By Yuval Rosenberg

President Trump’s 82-minute-long State of the Union address Tuesday night put a uniquely Trumpian spin on the usual recipe for the address: a healthy helping of rah-rah patriotism and legislative...
Is It Time to Start Selling 100-Year Bonds?

By Michael Rainey

With the U.S. facing a $12 trillion deficit over the next decade, the Treasury Department is exploring ways to maintain robust demand for American debt. One option being considered is the sale of “...
‘Greatest Threat’ to the US? Two Top Democratic Economists Aren’t So Worried About the Debt

By Michael Rainey

Starbucks founder Howard Schultz told “60 Minutes” Sunday that he is considering a run for president in 2020, possibly as a “centrist independent,” and one of his top issues is the growing national...
Deficit Rising, but Won’t Hit $1 Trillion Until 2022, CBO Projects

By Michael Rainey

In new budget and economic projections released Monday , the Congressional Budget Office said annual deficits are expected to rise above $1 trillion in 2022, two years later than previous estimates,...