Tens of billions more stimulus in the works
The surge in omicron variant cases across the country has some in Congress pondering yet another round of economic stimulus checks – roughly $68 billion worth for “an array of…
As interest rates get set to rise, Uncle Sam is unprepared to handle the fallout
With the new year in fiscal recklessness and folly underway, it’s worth recalling that, as the Federal Reserve starts raising interest rates, Uncle Sam’s balance sheet will get even worse….
Paycheck Protection Program was a costly dud
Among the many federal efforts to prop-up the economy in the wake of government-mandated business closures was the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. Roughly $800 billion was shoveled into PPP,…
Tackling the two big drivers of debt and fiscal instability
Official Washington has an ingrained habit of ignoring big problems until they become full-blow crises. One of the current big problems is federal spending, and the debt backing it up….
Four decades of fiscal recklessness
The United States government is $28 trillion is debt – and counting. But it’s easy to forget how recently it was that the debt seemed manageable – a paltry $1…
Using gimmicks to get all the spending Democrats want
The endless congressional wrangling over how much money to spend on a host of social welfare programs has entered a new and very Washington phase: hide and seek. As the…
The platinum coin gambit is no way to avoid the debt limit
Congress has raised the nation’s debt limit through early December, at which time, we are sure to revisit the recent gamesmanship, and doomsday scenarios. Among those was the resurfacing of…
Cowen: Is Biden’s spending plan a good idea?
While official Washington tries to sort out just how much borrowed money to spend on more government, George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen wonder why there hasn’t been more debate…
Forcing Democrats to look at the red ink in their spending plans
House Democrats’ squabbling over the size and content of a $3.5 trillion budget bill resulted in the delay of a vote on a trillion dollar (give or take) infrastructure bill….
Expanding the dole, and bankrupting the nation
The Biden administration’s push to expand the scope of federal programs really doesn’t begin to describe just how much the White House, and Congress, want to change the social contract…