by jpitney | Jan 24, 2023 | Congress, Debt, House of Representatives
Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: Those who think a discharge petition is an EZ-pass to resolving the debt crisis are driving against traffic. A few years ago, when I charted all the discharge petitions filed from the 90th to 115th Congresses (1967-2018), I found that,...
by jpitney | Jul 17, 2022 | China, Debt, Economic Policy
Minxin Pei at Nikkei Asia: Ever since China began to binge on debt to fuel its growth in 2009, many have wondered how long the party could go on. To the chagrin of many bearish observers, predictions of a financial crisis have not panned out. Today, China’s...
by jpitney | May 14, 2022 | Budget, Debt
From CBO: The federal budget deficit was $360 billion in the first seven months of fiscal year 2022 (that is, from October 2021 through April 2022), the Congressional Budget Office estimates. That amount is about one-fifth of the $1.9 trillion shortfall recorded...
by jpitney | Feb 17, 2022 | Debt, Economic Policy
Desmond Lachman at Inside Sources: The major problem with a high public debt level is that it saddles the government with large future interest payment obligations. That leaves little room for other public expenditures and makes it difficult for the government to...
by jpitney | Feb 2, 2022 | Debt, Economic Policy
Matt Egan at CNN: America’s national debt just hit another sobering milestone. Total public debt outstanding is now above $30 trillion, according to Treasury Department data published Tuesday. Government borrowing accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic...
by jpitney | Dec 23, 2021 | Debt, Economic Policy
Brian Riedl at the Manhattan Institute: Today’s trendy economic argument asserts that the current debt-to-GDP ratio of 100% has not harmed the economy, and therefore Congress can easily afford large new government expansions. But that argument has two fatal flaws....
