Staff / TruthdigFeb 21, 2009
Despite the fact that he's looking at a trillion-plus deficit for 2009 as he settles into his second month as president, Barack Obama has plans to cut the annual deficit by half by the time his first term ends. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
Staff / TruthdigFeb 17, 2009
California has the biggest economy in the union, but the state is in a real hole. With major shortfalls and a $40 billion budget in legislative gridlock, Sacramento has laid off some workers, furloughed others and slashed wages. Now the governor is threatening to, er, terminate 20,000 more employees. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
Staff / TruthdigJan 8, 2009
With news of a $1.2 trillion federal budget deficit and continually rising unemployment numbers, President-elect Barack Obama is facing an economy that has the constitution of a sickly cat. A remedy for what ails it may be coming in a restructuring of Medicare and Social Security, which Obama said will be central to efforts in how he will curb spending. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
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Staff / TruthdigJul 29, 2008
George W. Bush rode into office with a budget surplus, courtesy of his predecessor. When he leaves in January, he will not return the favor. The White House estimated the budget deficit for next year at a record $482 billion -- and that doesn't include the full cost of two wars, the potential bailout of Fannie and Freddie, the full stimulus package or the loss of tax revenue from an economy in the toilet. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
Staff / TruthdigOct 26, 2007
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years, a figure that includes interest for putting war costs on the proverbial credit card. To date, the two conflicts have cost more (adjusted for inflation) than the Korean and Vietnam wars combined. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
Robert Scheer / TruthdigFeb 7, 2007
President Bush's outrageous military budget has nothing do with fighting terrorism but everything to do with pumping up the profits of the administration's generous political donors in the defense industry. So, the question is: Will the Democrats have the guts to stop this betrayal of the public trust? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )
Marie Cocco / TruthdigFeb 6, 2007
Although President Bush recently feigned interest in income inequality and the deficit, his whopper of a budget makes it clear that his heart is still with his base: the haves and the have-mores. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )
Staff / TruthdigJan 4, 2007
The same George W. Bush who presided over record deficits and never vetoed a spending bill made an effort on Wednesday to co-opt the Democrats' goal of balancing the budget by 2012. Exactly how he'll reconcile that aim with making his tax cuts permanent remains a mystery, although Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., has an idea: "Talk is cheap." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
Staff / TruthdigJul 11, 2006
It goes like this: Make artificially gloomy budget forecasts at the start of the year; then, at the end of the year, when the numbers outperform your disingenuousness, announce that the economy is on the upswing The L (more). Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )
Staff / TruthdigMar 17, 2006
Congress just raised our debt ceiling--the amount we're allow to borrow--by $781 billion. It was either that or default on our treasury notes. This is the fourth debt-ceiling increase since Bush took office--some $3 trillion in total. Dick Cheney may have said that deficits don't matter, but try telling that to the next generation of Americans, who are going to have one helluva credit card bill to pay off. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
Staff / TruthdigMar 9, 2006
That's according to the Wall Street Journal. Also, progressives in Congress want to divert $60 billion in defense spending to humanitarian assistance, social programs, energy conservation, homeland security and deficit reduction. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
Staff / TruthdigMar 4, 2006
But this total does not include money for some relatively small costs--like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after this year. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
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