national debt

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Boehner Kicks Off New Fight Over Debt

He won't agree to raising ceiling without spending cuts to offset

(Newser) - Remember the nasty fight in DC last summer over the national debt ceiling? Get ready for round two this fall. John Boehner launched the first volley today, demanding at a fiscal summit that any increase in the ceiling be offset by spending cuts, reports the Hill . "When the time...

GOP Hopefuls Would Pile on US Debt
 GOP Hopefuls 
 Would Pile on US Debt 
ANALYSIS
Feb 23, 2012 7:38 AM CST

GOP Hopefuls Would Pile on US Debt

...except for Ron Paul's plan

(Newser) - The GOP presidential candidates do an awful lot of talking about fiscal conservativism, but when their budgets meet the road, there seems to be plenty of rubber involved. The budget plans of Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich would all greatly expand the national debt, independent analysts find. The...

GOP Frosh&#39;s Plan to Reduce Debt a Pathetic Gesture
GOP Frosh's Plan to Reduce Debt a Pathetic Gesture
Dana Milbank
Feb 2, 2012 9:28 AM CST

GOP Frosh's Plan to Reduce Debt a Pathetic Gesture

Dana Milbank amused 2010's revolutionaries grand plan

(Newser) - Republicans swept into Washington in 2010 vowing to reduce the debt, and yesterday eight of them unveiled their plan to do so... by returning the unused portion of their office budgets, reducing the debt by all of $1.5 million ... "a whopping .00001% of what the nation owes. The...

How Much Did Obama Really Add to Deficit?
 How Much Did Obama 
 Really Add to Deficit? 
Ezra Klein
Feb 1, 2012 10:14 AM CST

How Much Did Obama Really Add to Deficit?

Ezra Klein crunches the numbers and comes up with a lower total than you think

(Newser) - Mitt Romney has taken to carrying around a debt clock, blaming President Obama for the ever-climbing number it shows. But the clock doesn't show how much Obama has actually added to that debt, so Ezra Klein set out to find out. "There are two answers," he writes...

Deficit to Shrink ... to $1.1T
 Deficit to Shrink ... to $1.1T 
CBO report
Jan 31, 2012 11:42 AM CST

Deficit to Shrink ... to $1.1T

Congressional Budget Office releases its assessment

(Newser) - Good news/bad news time. Good news: The deficit will fall this year, thanks to additional tax revenue and major cuts in government spending. Bad news: It's still going to be $1.1 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office estimate released today; last year's total was $1.3...

Buffett Dares GOP to Donate More Taxes

Says he'll match them, and 'even go 3 for 1 for McConnell'

(Newser) - Warren Buffett's ready to donate money to pay down the national debt—provided Republicans lawmakers do so first. When Buffett called for higher taxes on the rich last year, Mitch McConnell and many other Republicans told him to " send in a check ," and John Thune even introduced...

National Debt Now as Big as Entire Economy

And sure to surpass it soon: USA Today

(Newser) - It's official, at least according to USA Today : The national debt is as big as the country's entire economy, and sure to surpass it soon. The federal government owes more than $15.23 trillion to creditors and government programs like Social Security, which is more than the latest...

White House Seeks $1.2T Hike in Debt Limit

Nation will need the extra money soon to pay bills

(Newser) - The Obama administration will ask Congress to raise the nation's borrowing limit by $1.2 trillion this week, marking the third and final increase from a deal negotiated over summer. Treasury officials said the increase is necessary because the government will be within $100 billion of its current limit...

Fitch Hacks US Debt Outlook After Super Committee Fails

Downgrade of AAA rating could loom

(Newser) - Thanks to the super committee’s super failure, Fitch Ratings has downgraded US debt outlook to negative. Fitch did not lower the US’ AAA rating for long-term treasuries, but a Fitch official says a negative debt outlook often leads to such a downgrade. That decision is not expected until late...

Private Citizens Chip In to Fight National Debt

But $83M over 50 years not enough for one day's interest

(Newser) - The US government has expanded the national debt from $1.1 trillion to $15 trillion over the past 30 years, but all over the country dedicated citizens are doing what they can to repay those obligations, even if it is just a few dollars at a time, reports the Los ...

Gingrich: Super Committee Failure 'Good for America'

Liberal bloggers pretty happy about it, too

(Newser) - Newt Gingrich certainly isn’t mourning the super committee’s super failure , calling it “good for America” this morning, Politico reports. Gingrich, a longtime critic of the panel, said the “gridlock” in Washington is “partly the president's fault, it's partly the Congress' fault, but it'...

After Super Failure, What's Next?

Key issues remain on table for lawmakers as super committee throws in towel

(Newser) - As the debt super committee prepares for an awkward day in which it's expected to announce that it is throwing in the towel, Politico examines what's on the horizon for Washington following the failure to reach an agreement . With no workable proposal on the table, members won’t...

Super Committee: Stick a Fork in It

Panel members likely to call it quits tomorrow

(Newser) - If things looked bleak for the super committee yesterday , they're worse in the cold light of today: The legislators tasked with slashing $1.2 trillion from the national deficit will throw in the towel as soon as tomorrow, reports the Washington Post . The signs are ominous at best, with...

Super Committee Prospects? Find Synonyms for 'Bleak'

Hope fading fast as deadline nears

(Newser) - So how go the super committee talks as the clock ticks toward the deadline of Wednesday (which really means Monday night for all practical purposes)? It's all but impossible to find even a glimmer of hope:
  • Washington Post : Headline: "Supercommittee at impasse as deadline nears"; snippet: "By
...

Super Committee May Punt on Toughest Tax Decisions

Temporary deal would defer details until after the 2012 elections

(Newser) - With Congress's debt committee apparently deadlocked and its Nov. 23 deadline looming, both parties are talking about putting off the toughest decisions until after the 2012 elections, reports the LA Times . Worried that a final deal would only inflame both bases and that outright failure would result in brutal...

Lawmakers Vow to Stop Defense Cuts if Panel Fails

Pessimism mounts that supercommittee will reach a deal

(Newser) - Your latest sign that the debt supercommittee isn't going to reach a deal: Lawmakers in both parties already are scrambling to ward off the $500 billion in across-the-board defense cuts that are supposed to be triggered by such a failure, reports the New York Times . Legislation is being drafted...

Debt Plan Will Contain New Tax Revenues: Boehner

But entitlements must be adjusted, speaker says

(Newser) - Despite Republican leaders' push against a tax hike, the super committee debt deal will include new tax revenues, John Boehner said yesterday. "I think there is room for revenues, but I think there clearly is a limit to the amount of revenues that are available." His comments follow...

Bipartisan Letter to Super Committee: Blow Past $1.5T

40 GOP reps now open to revenue hikes

(Newser) - A collection of 100 House members—including, critically, 40 Republicans—have sent a bipartisan letter urging the deficit reduction “super committee” to create a broad deal that would both trim entitlement cuts and boost revenue. “To succeed, all options for mandatory discretionary spending and revenues must be on...

Real Villain of Tax Breaks: Middle Class

Corporations account for just 8% of tax breaks

(Newser) - Tax loopholes and write-offs for corporate jets and special interests may fill political talking points, but tax breaks for families—particularly the middle-class families that President Obama says he wants to protect—far exceed corporate giveaways, reports the Washington Post . In fact, corporations accounted for just 8% of $1.08...

Nicholas Kristof: Get Real About Creating Jobs
 It's the Jobs, Stupid 
NICHOLAS KRISTOF
Aug 28, 2011 9:31 AM CDT

It's the Jobs, Stupid

Nothing else is going to pull us out, so get real about creating jobs

(Newser) - Washington policy wonks may enjoy obsessing about the debt and political intrigue, but with 25 million Americans unemployed or underemployed, it's the jobs, stupid, writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times . Polls show people's biggest worry is work, by a two-to-one margin over federal spending. "I...

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