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 28, 2021 | Budget, Congress, Economic Policy, House of Representatives
Nan Swift at R street Institute: The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (SCOMC) closed out the first session of the 117th Congress strong, advancing a second set of congressional reform recommendations. This tranche of recommendations is aimed at...
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....
by jpitney | Aug 25, 2021 | Budget, Congress, Economic Policy
Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: What is strange about this fiscal round is that it was not preceded by adoption of the usual concurrent resolution on the budget — the lead engine that pulls all subsequent budgetary actions on spending, revenues, deficit, and debt. The...
by jpitney | Aug 19, 2021 | Economic Policy
From CBO: The share of federal taxes paid by households in the highest quintile increased from 55 percent in 1979 to 70 percent in 2018. That group’s share of income before transfers and taxes also increased over the period but less than its share of federal taxes....
