#National Debt

History is filled with examples of governments that got into trouble by running up large debts, a phenomenon that is particularly appropriate to recall in early May. (more…)

Americans face an unpleasant fiscal landmark this election year: Sometime between now and when they vote in November, the national debt will exceed the U.S. economy’s entire annual production.That hasn’t happened since World War II. Once that conflict was over,…

Fitch Ratings on Monday affirmed the U.S. government’s AAA rating but lowered its long-term rating outlook from “stable” to “negative” and warned that there is “a slightly greater than 50 percent chance of a downgrade over a two-year horizon.” The U.S.…

While there are many places in the federal budget where taxpayer dollars could be saved, simply “cutting waste” is not a panacea. Harry Zeeve, national field director for The Concord Coalition, emphasizes that point in a new blog post on…

Time is running short for members of the congressional “super committee,” which has until a week from tomorrow to recommend a plan to reduce projected federal deficits by at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade.In recent days Democratic and…

Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) received the 2011 Paul E. Tsongas Economic Patriot Award at The Concord Coalition’s annual dinner Wednesday night in Washington.Former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), a member of Concord's board of directors, praised the…

Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, last week outlined some of the difficulties facing lawmakers as they weigh further cuts in the “discretionary” spending that Congress approves on an annual basis. Though defense and non-defense discretionary spending account…

Republicans and Democrats on the congressional super committee proposed two widely divergent deficit-reduction plans last week, with each side suggesting that the other had fallen far short of what was required.With the committee operating largely behind closed doors, many details…