Power Marketplace’s public service journalism 💙 Give Now

What would it take to balance the federal budget?

Feb 8, 2023
You need the courage to make cuts, the wisdom to negotiate and luck, says Linda Bilmes, who worked in the Clinton administration.
In the last half-century, only two presidents have balanced the federal budget: Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton, above with Vice President Al Gore.
Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images

Biden faces economic obstacles beyond the pandemic's burdens

The list includes dwindling trust funds for Social Security and Medicare and potential bubbles in the housing and stock markets.
Biden will confront "headwinds unlike those that have ever been faced by any modern president," says Eugene Steuerle of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
Mark Makela/Getty Images

Congress isn't just wrestling with a coronavirus relief package — it has a budget to pass, too

Aug 5, 2020
Congress has to fund the government for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1 — and it's slow going.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after the funeral of Rep. John Lewis in Washington, D.C.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Breaking down the national debt and budget deficit

Oct 1, 2019
It's a new fiscal year for America. Let's look at our debt.
The National Debt Clock, a billboard-sized digital display showing the increasing U.S. debt, in New York City in 2011.
Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

The budget deficit last topped $1 trillion in 2012, a very different time

Sep 13, 2019
Back then, the economy was struggling its way out of recession. Now? Not so much.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced Thursday the government deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time in seven years. Above, the Treasury Department building in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

We're heading toward trillion-dollar deficits. Here are 5 things you need to know.

Apr 10, 2018
The Congressional Budget Office says deficits will nearly equal GDP by 2028. That can't be good, right?
The early morning sun strikes the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. 
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Should you worry about the national debt?

Feb 16, 2018
We have short-term focus but a long-term problem.
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney testifies before the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday on the 2019 budget proposal released the day before.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Hey, what’s going on in the economy?

Feb 9, 2018
Five days of volatile markets, a five-hour government shutdown and one budget bill later ...
Traders and financial professionals work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the closing bell on Feb. 2.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

U.S. government shuts down for the second time in 2018

Feb 8, 2018
The shutdown came after Kentucky Senator Rand Paul blocked a vote on the budget plan.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Born in the year of tax reform

Dec 22, 2017
Two 31-year-olds discuss the changes to a tax code that hasn't seen major reform since they were born.
Traffic streaks past the U.S. Capitol on December 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. 
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

This is NOT a paywall. 

Marketplace is community-funded public service journalism. Give in any amount that works for you – what matters is that you give today.