Jun 10: It's hard to think of a scenario where federal spending doesn't go down further in many areas starting this fall. More
A federal investigator in the D.C. Public Defender's office is in the midst of taking her 6 days of furlough. She and others in that office face as many as 15 unpaid days this year.
Lawmakers promise they will never raise taxes or cut benefits for the middle class. But Congress' budget scorekeeper says they won't be able to keep that promise forever if they are serious about putting the debt on a sustainable path.
The top combined federal and state income tax rate in the U.S. falls in the middle of the pack of those in OECD countries. And it kicks in at a much higher level of income.
Not nearly as soon as expected, according to new estimates.
Unless Congress acts to reverse them, the spending cuts' effects could continue well past fiscal year 2013, which ends Sept. 30.
Lawmakers' about-face on FAA furloughs will help travelers. But advocates for everyone else directly affected by spending cuts are miffed with the selective undoing of what were supposed to be across-the-board cuts.
Deficits are set to fall for several years, thanks to an improving economy and policies that will boost revenue and cut spending. But those policies won't do much to help long-term shortfalls.
Seniors should pay more to access national parks under, said one lawmaker during a House hearing on forced budget cuts on Tuesday.
President's $3.77 trillion proposal would cut deficits by another $1.8 trillion over a decade.
The president is expected to propose $1.8 trillion in deficit reduction. If adopted, that would bring total debt reduction during his tenure to $4.3 trillion -- a big cut but maybe not big enough.
To date, President Obama has raised tax rates on the rich, extended a few of his new tax breaks for the middle class, and kept their income tax rates down. Here's what the president will push for now.
.
