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Should low-income workers without kids get expanded tax credits?

May 31, 2019
An expanded earned income tax credit has been floated by a number of Democratic presidential hopefuls.
New tax season, new rules but same amount of refund?
DNY59/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Can Congress fix the broken process that governs government spending?

Nov 29, 2018
A bipartisan committee has spent nearly a year trying to come up with a better way to do things
The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington, DC on Jan. 22, 2018 after the U.S. Senate reached a deal to reopen the federal government, with Democrats accepting a compromise spending bill.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

How much U.S. debt is too much?

Oct 16, 2018
Balancing the federal budget is a bigger deal for politicians than economists.
The United States could simply make more money to pay its bills, said Stephanie Kelton, an economics professor at Stony Brook University. But taken to an extreme, that could lead to higher inflation.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

How much U.S. debt is too much?

Oct 16, 2018
Balancing the federal budget is a bigger deal for politicians than economists.
The United States could simply make more money to pay its bills, said Stephanie Kelton, an economics professor at Stony Brook University. But taken to an extreme, that could lead to higher inflation.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Federal deficit rises to six-year high following last year's tax cut

Oct 16, 2018
The U.S. government is spending more and taking in less. The Treasury Department reported on Monday that the federal deficit has increased this past budget year to $779 billion, the largest deficit since 2012. The biggest culprit is last year’s Republican-backed tax overhaul, which cut tax rates for businesses and individuals. The tax law likely […]

Federal deficit rises to six-year high following last year's tax cut

Oct 16, 2018
The U.S. government is spending more and taking in less. The Treasury Department reported on Monday that the federal deficit has increased this past budget year to $779 billion, the largest deficit since 2012. The biggest culprit is last year’s Republican-backed tax overhaul, which cut tax rates for businesses and individuals. The tax law likely […]

Critics of FAA reauthorization bill say it fails to address major upgrades to air traffic control system

Sep 19, 2018
Congress has pushed off deadlines for the reauthorization bill, but the next one is at the end of September.
A jet makes an evening landing June 21, 2001 at Los Angeles International Airport. 
David McNew/Getty Images

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It's use-it-or-lose-it season in Washington

Sep 18, 2018
Every year at this time, federal agencies scramble to spend down their budgets.
It's September, spendathon time in Washington, D.C.
NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

Defense authorization act would boost military spending, but can it be sustained?

Aug 13, 2018
President Donald Trump heads to upstate New York on Monday to sign one of the largest military budgets in the nation’s history. The $716 billion John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act  pours money into pay, training and equipment maintenance, among other things. But some point out it adds to the fast-rising federal deficit and […]
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the military at Joint Andrews Air Force base, Maryland, on Sept. 15, 2017.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

We dodged another government shutdown

Mar 23, 2018
It was a busy week in Washington.
President Donald Trump gestures to the $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress early Friday, with Vice President Mike Pence, center, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, left, at the White House.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images