#National Debt

Negotiations to raise the federal debt limit are resuming today between the administration and lawmakers as partisan bickering over the budget continues and newly released projections have underscored worries about Medicare's finances.The government hit its debt ceiling a week ago…

The federal government hit its debt ceiling Monday, forcing the administration to turn to what Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner calls “extraordinary measures” to pay the government’s bills and avoid default.Although Geithner has estimated the government can get by without a…

Because their futures are at stake, young Americans need to be engaged in the national dialogue about the rapidly growing federal debt and large unfunded liabilities the U.S. government has for programs like Social Security and Medicare.T.J Leach and Alex…

Last week Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mt.) said "A debt reduction trigger could be an important part of passing legislation to reduce our debt and move our economy in a positive direction toward growth and job creation." He…

With an eye on the need to raise the federal debt limit soon, administration officials and six congressional representatives began deficit-reduction negotiations last week. Some of those involved in the talks, chaired by Vice President Joe Biden, have offered hopeful…

Making A Difference My fellow student T.J Leach and I, Alex Hall, are students of George Nye’s Business and Economics class at Lake Region High School in Naples, Maine. We both grew up in the area, which is about one…

Tomorrow the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on budget enforcement mechanisms, a topic that has become popular as members of both parties have recently offered proposals to reduce the deficit by changing the budget process.The proposals…

Elected officials in both parties have made what I call “magical, mystery tax pledges” that are at odds with bipartisan approaches to serious deficit reduction:Republicans: Don’t raise revenue above the 40-year historical average of around 18-19 percent of GDP.Democrats, including…