The Debt

A Warning About the Next Economic Crisis from Leaders Who Battled the Last One

By Yuval Rosenberg

Three top officials who helped steer the U.S. through the financial crisis a decade ago warned Tuesday that, while the banking system has clearly been strengthened, policymakers might find it harder...
Is Corporate Debt Pointing to a Recession?

By Michael Rainey

A measure of corporate debt levels is reaching worrisome levels, says Joseph Lavorgna, chief economist at the investment bank Natixis. In a note to clients Tuesday, Lavorgna said that the ratio of...
Democrats and the Deficit: The Intraparty Fight Ahead

By Yuval Rosenberg

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old Democratic Socialist who stunned the political world and roiled the Democratic Party this month by defeating Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) in a primary, believes in...
Worrying About the Next Recession

By Yuval Rosenberg

When will the next recession hit? It’s been more than nine years since the Great Recession officially ended , and the U.S. economy is about a year away from passing the 1990s expansion to become the...
Another Problem with Larry Kudlow's Deficit Whopper

By Yuval Rosenberg

Larry Kudlow, director of President Trump’s National Economic Council, set off a wave of incredulous head-scratching on Friday by claiming in an interview with Fox Business Network that the federal...

Larry Kudlow, Trump’s Top Economic Adviser, Says the Deficit Is Falling. It Is Not.

By Yuval Rosenberg

Larry Kudlow, President Trump’s top economic adviser, said on the Fox Business Network Friday morning that the federal budget deficit is falling “rapidly.” In response to a Maria Bartiromo question...
US Interest Costs Will Match Social Security Spending by 2048, CBO Says

By Yuval Rosenberg

The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday confirmed what we already knew: The U.S. faces a rising tide of red ink, with the national debt as a share of the economy projected to nearly double over...
Bill Clinton’s Surplus Miracle, 20 Years Later

By Sheila Weinberg

Standing behind a podium in the Rose Garden, President Bill Clinton delivered a bold prediction 20 years ago. “Well ahead of the most ambitious schedule, America has balanced the budget,” he declared...
Forget Tax Cuts: Trump’s Immigration Policy Is Drowning Out GOP Issues

By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey

Republicans had planned to focus on the tax cuts this week as we approach the six-month anniversary of the Trump administration's major legislative achievement, the passage of the tax bill in...
The Politics Behind Permanent Trillion-Dollar Deficits

By Yuval Rosenberg

Budget Guy Stan Collender writes that budget deficits under the Trump administration are projected to hit $1 trillion in 2020 — and keep rising to $1.5 trillion in fiscal 2028. “But what’s most...

How Congress Cheats with Our Money — and How We Can Stop It

By Marc Goldwein and Zach Moller

The U.S. is on course to top its record debt levels set after World War II, and permanent trillion-dollar deficits — meaning, forever — are likely to return within two years . And unlike after World...
April Is Financial Literacy Month. Someone Tell Congress.

By Joseph J. Minarik and Caroline L. Ferguson

February is Black History Month, March is National Women’s Month, and April? Well, it’s Financial Literacy Month, of course! The U.S. government gave financial literacy its own month in 2003. April...
Why All the Warnings About Unsustainable National Debt Could Be Wrong

By Michael Rainey

International economists are warning about rising global debt levels and deficit hawks in Washington are increasingly worried about what they see as unsustainable debt levels in the U.S., but a new...
The US Has an Exceptional Debt Outlook – and Not in a Good Way

By Michael Rainey

The International Money Fund’s latest global fiscal survey warns that in five years, the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio will be higher than Italy’s, a nation not generally known for its exemplary fiscal...
When the Budget Won’t Balance, Just Get Rid of the Budget Committee?

By Michael Rainey

It may sound like a joke — Erik Sherman of Forbes said it seemed like something “from The Onion or Andy Borowitz at the New Yorker, only with less humor and pith” — but Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), chair...