Latest
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Does the President's Budget Increase the Deficit or Reduce It? (The Answer Depends on Your Baseline)
According to Obama Administraton, the President's FY2011 reduces the ten-year deficit by $2.1 trillion; or $1.2 trillion if the savings from the Iraq...
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If You Think Snowmageddon is Bad, Blizzard of Debt Will be Worse
Experts concerned about the nation’s fiscal and economic outlook braved the snow yesterday to participate in a Senate Budget Committee hearing on...
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Blue Dogs Seek to Take a Bite Out of Spending
The Blue Dog Democrats, fresh off of attaining long-sought statutory PAYGO rules, are now setting their sights on capping discretionary spending. They...
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One More FDIC Bank Closing
On Friday evening, the FDIC reported that it has taken over an additional bank ( First American State Bank of Minnesota) for a cost to the FDIC of...
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What Will the Budget Look Like in 2020?
In our Analysis of the President's FY 2011 Budget, we discussed that, if the President's proposals were enacted, spending would grow to $5.7 trillion...
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‘Line’ Items: Washington Activities Affecting the Bottom Line
No Limit to Ploys in House Rules – The House raised the debt limit to $14.3 trillion on Thursday using a procedure that allowed members to approve the...
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Economists Explain the Announcement Effect
In a recent economic study, André Meier, Giancarlo Corsetti, and Gernot Müller found that announcing significant fiscal retrenchment (ie deficit...
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Can Anyone Clip Byrd Scholarships' Wings?
Once again, a president is trying to get rid of a “small” scholarship program tucked away in the Department of Education. And once again, the attempt...
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Monthly Budget Review Reports $434 billion deficit in FY 2010 Thus Far
The Congressional Budget Office came out with their Monthly Budget Review yesterday. It states that the federal government incurred a deficit of $434...
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Throwing Stones
A number of years ago, two of our Board Members, former Congressmen Charlie Stenholm (D-TX) and Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), developed a Social Security reform...
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Expired Fed Lending Facilities
Earlier this week, four Fed lending facilities came to a close (see Fed release here), as previously announced, in light of improved conditions in...
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House Rules Stack the Deck for Debt Ceiling Increase
The stakes are high and the House is raising the limit and calling the shots. No, we’re not talking Vegas – the casinos wish they were dealing with...