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U.S. debt just hit $35 trillion. Is it putting the global economy at risk?

Aug 13, 2024
If you add up government debt around the world, it totals $91 trillion. More than a third of it comes from one country: The U.S.
The national debt has ballooned to cosmic proportions.
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Does Social Security increase the national debt? It depends on how you define “debt.”

Jul 4, 2024
The program pays $1.5 trillion a year and aids 70 million Americans. But it has its own budget and by law can't create debt or widen deficits.
Almost 70 million Americans receive Social Security benefits and the program pays out about $1.5 trillion a year, as Marketplace's Kimberly Adams explains.
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Social Security cuts are inevitable by 2035 unless lawmakers act

Jun 27, 2024
Social Security has been known as “the third rail of American politics” since the early 1980s, with the idea that touching the program can prove deadly to a politician’s career.
Because Social Security can’t take on any debt or tap into general revenues to fund benefits, Congress needs to do something before the money runs out.
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How the Inflation Reduction Act could change the future of one Native American reservation

Jun 24, 2024
Bob Blake, member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa and owner of a solar development company, explains how the IRA could lead to more solar power on the reservation.
Bob Blake and Ralph Jacobson are developing solar energy at the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Northern Minnesota.
Andie Corban/Marketplace

The Golden Triangle: How the CHIPS Act is changing one Arizona neighborhood

May 29, 2024
The investment and growth spurred by government dollars are heightening competition among residents, business owners and local officials.
In the Phoenix area, development accelerated by CHIPS Act investment may disrupt rural lifestyles and transform parts of the desert. Above, developer Charles Eckert.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

Tax breaks are popular. They also cost the federal government more than $1 trillion a year.

May 24, 2024
In the debate over the debt and deficit, experts say tax breaks that skew toward the wealthy deserve as close a look as government spending.
“The IRS has basically been turned into not just a revenue-collection agency, but also basically a welfare agency having to give people goodies and tax breaks for all sorts of different things that they do," economist Gerald Prante says.
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Now that pandemic SNAP benefits have ended, many scramble for food

May 23, 2024
The number of Americans facing food insecurity has increased. People are turning to food pantries, soup kitchens and each other.
When emergency nutrition assistance expired, millions of Americans suddenly had hundreds of dollars less per month for food. 
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Commerce chief lays out blueprint for chip manufacturing in America

May 10, 2024
The supply chain is being built to reduce U.S. vulnerability and seize opportunities like artificial intelligence, Raimondo says.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo discussed chips, China and jobs with Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal in Washington.
Nancy Farghalli/Marketplace

When the government can no longer pay full Social Security benefits

May 7, 2024
Monday's report on the system's "go-broke" date raises questions about how Social Security is funded.
Projections indicate that Social Security and Medicare benefits will be cut immediately after 2033 by 21%, says Will McBride, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation.
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