National Debt

To attract buyers for the bonds that will finance that deficit, the federal government will have to pay higher interest rates.

Proposed policies in the bill would impact health savings accounts, college savings accounts, taxes on overtime and tips, and more.

Nina Eichacker, an economics professor at the University of Rhode Island, says the downgrade speaks to a “growing disparity between an administration that talks about wanting to reduce the debt and then pursues policies that do anything but.”

Historically, bond investors more or less swallow the debt the U.S. government takes on, but this time they may be less inclined to do so.

A government debt sale this week went poorly because potential buyers were spooked by tariffs.

The fight is over how to frame the numbers, one tax law expert says, because that changes the rhetoric. A Senate adviser will decide.

The Social Security Administration could lose at least 7,000 workers under recommended staff cuts by DOGE. That could lead to serious delays in benefits processing.

Rural hospitals and clinics face potential closures, leaving patients with longer travel times, fewer options and more uncertainty about their access to care.

What’s good for consumers looking for loans could be bad news for the economy.

In Valley County, Idaho, for example, data show that the Forest Service is the area’s third largest employer — ahead of a school district, the local hospital and a major ski resort.