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Climbing 10-year Treasury yield signals costlier future for buying, borrowing

Aug 18, 2023
If the Federal Reserve needs to keep interest rates higher to continue battling inflation, 10-year yields will have to compete.
The Treasury Department is issuing a lot of bonds to pay for recent government spending. Above, a statue of Alexander Hamilton outside the agency's offices.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

We have a debt ceiling deal. So what happens next?

Jun 2, 2023
Now, agencies and Congress need to figure out how to implement the thing.
Congress will soon have to turn broad spending limits into actual appropriations bills for the next fiscal year.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The debt limit deal would reduce government spending by about $1.5 trillion

May 31, 2023
Reduced government spending can have an impact on the broader economy. But economists say the effects will likely be limited.
"It does slow the economy, but not in a particularly meaningful way," said economics professor Justin Wolfers of the debit limit deal reached by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Public spending on preschool hasn’t gone up in two decades

May 18, 2023
A new report finds that funding has stagnated in the last two decades. Some states are trying to buck the trend.
Public funding for preschools has stagnated in the last 20 years. Some states like New Jersey are looking to change that.
Daria Nipot / Getty Images

Why comparing government and household spending doesn't quite work

Feb 16, 2023
It's like comparing apples and oranges, professor Golnaz Motie says, because the government has many more tools and huge immediate obligations.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has compared the federal debt ceiling to a household's credit limit.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Does austerity have a hidden agenda?

Feb 8, 2023
A new book explores the historical relationship between austerity, the labor force, and fascism.
Pensioners march in Athens in 2018 during a demonstration to demand the return of pension funds lost as part of austerity measures. Clara Mattei, author of "The Capital Order," argues  that austerity reflects a deeper history of labor force suppression.
Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images

What will happen if the U.S. blows through the debt limit?

Sep 27, 2021
The economy would be in uncharted — and dangerous — territory.
Pay and hours are at the core of the unionization efforts.
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

With the 2,700-page infrastructure bill comes a lot of lobbying

Aug 5, 2021
Groups large and small are vying for a piece of the pie and seeking lobbyists' help in influencing senators.
While the U.S. Senate is finalizing the infrastructure bill, lobbyists are racing to make their voices heard.
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images

Biden administration plans "whole of government" approach to fight climate change

Apr 22, 2021
The administration will work with domestic and international government agencies as well as private finance.
The Biden administration is arguing that climate change is already a crisis affecting the whole economy, meaning it needs a proportionate response.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Infrastructure plan has positives and negatives for GDP

Apr 8, 2021
Infrastructure adds to gross domestic product, but interest rates can take away from it.
Lower-income workers have been able to raise their wages faster than middle and higher-income workers, says a new NBER working paper.
Andrew Burton/Getty Images