Budget Battles
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How Medicare for All Is Tearing Democrats Apart
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Mike Bloomberg's Plan to Boost Social Security
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Court Strikes Down Trump Admin’s Medicaid Work Rules
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Pete Buttigieg’s Deficit Talk Scares the Left
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Deficit Soars 25% Over First Four Months of Fiscal 2020
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The $844 Billion Mystery in Trump’s Budget
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Trump’s $4.8 Trillion Fiscal Fantasy
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What's Missing From Mike Bloomberg’s Social Security Plan
Democratic presidential contender Mike Bloomberg rolled out a vague plan Sunday that calls for shoring up Social Security’s finances, expanding benefits for the poorest and creating a government-...
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The American Dream Alive and Well in ... Finland?
By Michael RaineyBernie Sanders’s opponents routinely accuse him of being a “socialist” bent on importing nefarious foreign values to the U.S., and President Trump took that approach one step further this past...
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Budget Deficit to Top $1 Trillion a Year for Next Decade: CBO
The U.S. budget deficit is expected to top $1 trillion in fiscal year 2020 and remain above that level indefinitely, lifting the national debt over the next decade to its highest level since World...
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The Next Big Fiscal Question: How to Raise More Revenue?
By Michael RaineyAn all-star roster of fiscal experts gathered at the Brookings Institution Tuesday to debate the future of American tax policy. The initial discussion featured former U.S. Treasury secretaries...
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The Trouble Ahead for Federal Trust Funds
By Michael RaineyThe aggregate balance of the hundreds of federal trust funds and other dedicated funds will start declining in two years, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office...
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Biden and Sanders Trade More Shots Over Social Security
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders continue to trade shots over Social Security. On Tuesday night, Sanders tweeted out an ad featuring an audio clip from a 1995 Biden Senate...
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Sanders and Biden Clash Over Social Security
With less than two weeks to go before the Iowa caucuses, Social Security has emerged as a major point of contention in the Democratic presidential primary. The fight: Sen. Bernie Sanders recently...
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Where the Democratic Candidates Stand on Social Security
By Michael RaineyWith Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden clashing over their plans for the program, Social Security has become a flashpoint for the Democratic presidential candidates as we head toward the Iowa caucuses...
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How to Raise More Than $1 Trillion for Social Security
By Michael RaineyOne of the more popular ideas for improving the finances of the Social Security system is to raise the maximum level of income that is exposed to FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) taxes...
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Chart of the Day: Record Low Poverty Rate
By Michael RaineyThe extensive array of government assistance programs — including Social Security, unemployment insurance, veterans’ benefits, nutritional aid, rental assistance and the Earned Income Tax Credit —...
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Democrat's New Taxes Wouldn't Hit Just Billionaires
By Michael RaineySome Democratic tax proposals are focused on making millionaires and billionaires pay more, but other households would be affected as well. Neil Irwin of The New York Times points out Tuesday that...
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How Mitt Romney Wants to Save Social Security and Other Trust Funds
By Michael RaineyA bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney introduced legislation Tuesday that would create new congressional committees focused on the fiscal health of federal trust...
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Number of the Day: $23 a Month
By Michael RaineyThe Social Security Administration on Thursday said the cost-of-living adjustment for 2020 would be 1.6%. That translates to a bump of about $23 on the average monthly benefit of $1,460. The 2020...
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The Case for Giving Social Security to Children
By Michael RaineyUS social welfare programs reduced poverty by about two-thirds overall in 2018, according to an analysis of Census data by Matt Bruenig of the left-leaning People’s Policy Project. Bruenig offers a...
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Elizabeth Warren Has a Plan to Expand Social Security
By Michael Rainey and Yuval RosenbergElizabeth Warren released a plan Thursday to expand Social Security and raise benefit payments. Warren’s plan would: Immediately increase benefit payments by $200 a month. If enacted, Warren’s plan...