Budget Battles

A red traffic light stands in front of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington

Spending Caps Could Come Roaring Back in 2020

Why Children Lose Out in the Federal Budget

Surprise Medical Bills Even for Patients with Insurance

Why Pensions Are the Hot New Tax Shelters

Newsletter

  • A cyclist passes the U.S. Capitol in Washington

    Congress Puts Spending Bills in Gear

    Congress is on pace to do something it hasn’t done in more than 20 years: pass all of its spending bills before the fiscal year begins on October 1. How they’re doing it: In order to move the...

  • Quote of the Day: Time to Raise Taxes?

    “Tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product is expected to be 16.5 percent next year. The long-term average in a full-employment economy is 18.5 percent of GDP; if revenue were at that...

  • Happy Birthday, Social Security!

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law 83 years ago today, August 14, 1935. Here are some key facts about the program, courtesy of the Center on Budget and Policy...

  • How the Tax Cuts Could Raise Wages – and Why They Might Not

    Wages don’t seem to be rising in the wake of the corporate tax cuts that went into effect this year, and many critics of the GOP tax overhaul say there’s little reason to think they will. But the...

  • Quote of the Day: When Tax Cuts Pay for Themselves

    “You … often hear the claim that a lot of tax cuts will ‘pay for themselves,’ that they’ll cause so much additional economic activity that the revenue feedback from that activity will fully offset...

  • Starting in June, the newly unemployed aren't eligible to get a federal subsidy for health care, while the proposal to extend subsidies to those laid off through the end of the year is languishing in Congress.

    States Push Back Against Short-Term Health Care Plans

    The Trump administration is promoting short-term health care plans as a cheaper alternative to Obamacare, but some state regulators are pushing back against the expanded use of the plans, which...

  • Are Tax Revenues Really Rising?

    A Wall Street Journal editorial this past weekend took aim at the idea that the Republican tax cuts have much to do with rising deficits. “Perhaps you’ve read that the federal budget deficit is...