The U.S. Credit Rating Just Dropped. It's Time for Radical Budget Reform.
The lack of oversight and the general absence of a long-term vision is creating inefficiency, waste, and red ink as far as the eye can see.
Medicare
Is the Budget Process Broken, or Is Congress Just Refusing To Do Its Job?
Since Congress designed and implemented the last budget process in 1974, only on four occasions have all of the appropriations bills for discretionary spending been passed on time.
This Election Season, Beware of These False Promises
Many politicians offer a simplified view of the world—one in which government interventions are all benefits and no costs. That couldn't be further from the truth.
The Next President Needs To Cut Spending
At a minimum, the national debt should be smaller than the size of the economy. A committed president just might be able to deliver.
CBO Projects Huge Deficits, $116 Trillion in New Borrowing Over the Next 30 Years
A new Congressional Budget Office report warns of "significant economic and financial consequences" caused by the federal government's reckless borrowing.
Private Insurance and Government Programs Drive Up Health Care Costs
Letting third parties pay our bills pushes prices higher and limits our options.
Social Security and Medicare Are Ticking Time Bombs
Even taking all the money from every billionaire wouldn't cover our coming bankruptcy.
Vivek Ramaswamy Thinks 'Wokeness Is a Cultural Cancer'
Why the businessman launched a long shot campaign for the presidency.
The Debt Ceiling Fight Is a Reminder of America's Dire Fiscal Future
The longer we wait to address our debt, the more painful it will be.
Vivek Ramaswamy Is Wrong About the National Debt
We can't grow our way out of its ruinous economic impact. The only way forward is to cut spending.
Republicans' and Democrats' Refusal To Reform Social Security and Medicare Is Political Malpractice
In 10 years, the programs' funds will be insolvent. Over the next 30 years, they will run a $116 trillion shortfall.
Biden's New Budget Would Hike Taxes and Wage Class Warfare
The higher taxes on small businesses and entrepreneurs could slow growth. Less opportunity means more tribalism and division.
Yes, There Are Libertarians During Bank Runs
Plus: The editors recommend the best books for sparking interest in free market principles.
Ridiculous Spending on Museums May Be Here To Stay
Handouts for tourist-trap museums will be part of the federal funding battleground in the next two years.
Biden's Budget Will Raise Taxes Without Addressing the Federal Government's Spending Problem
Biden is set to propose a new tax on unrealized investment gains and to quadruple a recently imposed tax on stock buybacks.
Paul Krugman Says Social Security Is Sustainable. It's Really Not.
Krugman sees benefit cuts as "a choice" but believes that implementing a massive tax increase on American employers and workers would be "of course" no big deal.
Social Security and Medicare Cuts Are Coming, Whether Politicians Do It or Not
As legislators refuse to act, benefits will be cut without any possibility of sheltering those seniors who are poor.
U.S. Will Add $18.8 Trillion in New Debt by 2033
Plus: Age verification for social media, a bill to ban cannabis "gatherings," and more...
Under No Circumstances Did Joe Biden Save Social Security
Plus: a listener question on prohibition and a lightning round on the editors' favorite Super Bowl moments
Biden's Drug Price Controls Will Kill More Patients in the Long Run
And increase total health care costs to boot.
The Fight Over the Debt Ceiling Is Just Beginning
Legislators will increasingly argue over how to spend a diminishing discretionary budget while overall spending simultaneously explodes.
Social Security Is on the Brink of Collapse. The GOP Won't Touch It.
In 1950, there were more than 16 workers for every beneficiary. In 2035, that ratio will be only 2.3 workers per retiree.
Donald Trump and J.D. Vance Say No Cuts for Social Security. That's Impossible.
Social Security benefits will be cut automatically in less than a decade unless Congress shores up the program before it hits insolvency. Ignoring that is not a solution.
The GOP's Current Plan To Cut Spending Is a Political Failure
Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are still the chief drivers of our future debt. But Republicans aren't touching them.
To Win the Speakership, Kevin McCarthy Had To Promise To Cut Spending. Good.
While some Republicans may have had misguided motivations, a few disrupted McCarthy's campaign in order to enact fiscal restraint. Their colleagues were fine with business as usual.
Congress Can Reduce the Deficit by $7.7 Trillion in 10 Years
The Congressional Budget Office projects that future deficits will explode. But there's a way out.
A GOP-Led Congress May Focus on Owning the Libs. Instead, It Should Focus on Owning Inflation.
If the midterms favor Republicans, their top priority needs to be the fight against inflation—whether or not they feel like they created the problem.
A Few Ideas for the Better Government Americans Desperately Want
From cronyist subsidies to an unfair tax code, there are several key fixes Congress could make to better serve the public.
Medicare for All Would Be a Terrible Trade
Top-notch health care, delivered fast and for low cost, really isn’t on the government's menu.
Biden Brags About Falling Deficits, but the Federal Fiscal Situation Is Still 'Unsustainable'
Under current policies, Social Security and Medicare will consume 85 percent of all federal tax revenue by 2050.
Biden Is Trying To Pass a Wealth Tax—Again. It Could Be Unconstitutional.
The president's new budget plan calls on Congress to tax wealthy Americans' unrealized capital gains.
Our Insane Government Spending Will Hurt Our Response to Ukraine
We must face the reality that the debt does matter.
Congress Wants Taxpayers To Bail Out the Postal Service
The House passed the bill this week with little fanfare and broad bipartisan support.
Additional Thoughts on the Supreme Court's Covid-19 Mandate Decisions
Assorted observations on yesterday's opinions, what they mean, and what comes next.
BREAKING: SCOTUS Stays OSHA Vax-or-Test Rule, Allows CMS Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers to Take Effect
By divided votes, the justices entered stayed t the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard and stayed the lower court injunctions against the mandate that Medicare and Medicaid service providers require their employees to get vaccinated.
Injunction Against Health Care Worker Vaccine Mandates Unlikely to Be Stayed Before 2022
The Supreme Court has asked for responses to the federal government's stay request.
Health Care Worker Vaccine Mandate Reaches the Supreme Court
The Biden Administration is seeking to stay lower court injunctions against the mandate.
Fifth Circuit Narrows Injunction Against CMS Vaccine Mandate for Medicaid and Medicare Providers
The district court's justification for a nationwide injunction was decidedly lacking.
Will Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers Be First to Reach the Supreme Court?
Now that a federal appeals court has weighed in, the CMS mandate may reach One First Street.
Medicare's Fiscal Ruin
Are Medicare's fiscal problems even worse than the headline numbers suggest?
Biden Administration Imposes Vaccine Mandate on Health Care Facilities that Participate in Medicare or Medicaid
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has adopted a more stringent rule for health care providers than OSHA is imposing on large employers.
Health Care Provisions of Democratic Spending Bill Would Add More than $500 Billion to the Deficit
New analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office shows massive deficit increase as a result of spending bill’s health care provisions.
Progressives Want To Use a Giant Budget Gimmick To Hide the Cost of the Democrats' Spending Bill
When everything's a priority, nothing is.
Joe Manchin Isn't the Fiscal Conservative We Need, but He's the Best We've Got
"Spending trillions more on new and expanded government programs, when we can't even pay for the essential social programs...is the definition of fiscal insanity."
Blame Both Parties if the Federal Government Shuts Down in December
Democrats want to raise the debt ceiling, while Republicans occasionally remember they're against big government spending.
Medicare Is About To Run Out of Money. Democrats Want To Make the Program Cost Even More.
The federal health care program is on track for a trust fund shortfall in just five years. But instead of paying for the program that exists, Democrats want to expand it.
How 9/11 Actually Changed Everything
Plus, why is no one talking about the Medicare Trustees' entitlement report?