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“Today’s new survey shows that fiscal concerns are top of mind in this election, and they want leaders who are committed to solutions,” said Michael A. Peterson.
Federal spending for international affairs, which supports American diplomacy and development aid, is a small portion of the U.S. budget.
The federal government spent $90 billion on housing assistance in 2021, an increase of almost 70 percent from the preceding year.
This piece examines spending on veterans within the budget and outlines the factors that have pushed it higher in recent years.
The President's budget includes a number of tax proposals that would increase revenues and reduce spending by $4.3 trillion over the next 10 years.
Defense spending by the United States accounted for nearly 40 percent of military expenditures by countries around the world in 2023.
The federal government is slated to borrow about $1.5 trillion this year, and that number is projected to nearly double over the next decade.
The child tax credit (CTC) is a measure administered though the tax code that is designed to make raising children more affordable by easing the financial burden faced by families.
Over the last four decades, federal grants to state and local governments have made up about 17 percent of their total revenues.
There are three widely used measures of federal debt. What are the important differences between these measurements?
Interest costs are on track to become the largest category of spending in the federal budget.
Healthcare spending in the United States is a key driver of the nation’s fiscal imbalance and has risen notably over the past few decades.
“The national debt is already $34 trillion, but as it grows over the next three decades, we’ll spend more than double that on interest alone,” said Michael A. Peterson.
Healthcare spending is a critically important part of the American economy and the federal budget.
GAO projects debt held by the public would more than double over the next 30 years.
Here are the top ten spending categories for the federal budget.
“As Washington navigates short-term budget battles, our long-term fiscal outlook keeps getting more and more dangerous," said Michael A. Peterson.
Here are six key takeaways from CBO’s latest Long-Term Budget Outlook projections.
Sequestration is a budget procedure used by lawmakers to cancel or limit funding in order to meet budget goals.
Up to Us is a nationwide college campus competition for students to build a movement to raise awareness and engagement on America’s long-term fiscal and economic challenges.
Karen Dynan explores the implications of the federal debt burden and the degree of change required to stabilize the national debt.
While this budget would be a step in the right direction, it does not adequately address the underlying structural imbalance that defines our fiscal outlook.
“We need our leaders to rise to the urgency of the moment, but legislative gridlock continues to prevent progress on even the basics of budgeting," said Michael A. Peterson.
The United States lost an estimated $1.8 trillion in revenues through tax expenditures in 2023.
The Treasury projects that debt as a percentage of GDP will grow to more than five times the size of the U.S. economy in the next 75 years.
In 2017, Congress and the President enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which made significant changes to the tax code for individuals and corporations.
A continuing resolution is a temporary funding measure that Congress can use to fund the federal government for a limited amount of time.
Improving our healthcare system to deliver better quality care at lower cost is critically important to our nation’s long-term economic and fiscal well-being.
One of the most fundamental responsibilities of the federal government is to set and pass a budget every year, allocating funding towards the nation’s needs and priorities.
“Earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office released new data showing that interest costs in 2024 will total a staggering $870 billion, a jump of 32 percent and more than $2 billion per day,” said Michael A. Peterson.
A group of respected policy experts share their views on how a bipartisan fiscal commission could help break the cycle of governing by crisis.
Although the need for serious, long-term changes to the funding structure of the Highway Trust Fund is clear, there is disagreement over the approach to do so.
The earned income tax credit (EITC) is a measure administered through the tax code to address poverty.
The words debt and deficit come up frequently in debates about the policy decisions that lawmakers face. The two concepts are similar, but are often confused.
The primary deficit focuses on the difference between government revenues and spending, excluding interest payments. Learn more about the U.S. primary deficit.
At $34 trillion and rising, the national debt threatens America’s economic future. Here are the top ten reasons why the national debt matters.
Programs that millions of Americans depend on and care about may be feeling a squeeze from interest costs on our high and rising national debt.
The most recent projections from CBO confirm once again that America’s fiscal outlook is on an unsustainable path — increasingly driven by higher interest costs.
"Today’s CBO projections are the latest loud and clear warning about America’s unsustainable national debt," said Michael A. Peterson.
CBO’s report is the latest warning sign about the dire fiscal outlook.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, speaking in an interview, said that now is the time to start addressing our $34 trillion and rising national debt.
Medicaid’s role in state budgets is unique, since the program acts as both an expenditure and the largest source of federal support in state budgets.
Significant majorities of voters across party lines agree that a commission would strengthen Social Security, lower borrowing costs, and improve our economic outlook.
Federal programs that invest in children are not only critical to the health and well-being of the youngest Americans, but they can also provide long-term benefits to the nation’s economy.
“As the 2024 campaign heats up, voters are calling on candidates to show leadership by backing a fiscal commission to address our unsustainable national debt,” said Michael A. Peterson.
The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act is estimated to cost about $400 million over 10 years.
"Committee passage of the Fiscal Commission Act is an important step toward a comprehensive approach to stabilizing our rapidly growing national debt," said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
The deduction of state and local tax payments (known as SALT) from federal income taxes has been a subject of debate among economists and policymakers over the past few years — with significant implications for our budget and fiscal outlook.
A fiscal commission would provide the space and structure for lawmakers to comprehensively review the entire budget and improve the fiscal path of the U.S.
Average income among households in the lowest fifth of the income distribution was $21,900, while income for households in the highest fifth averaged $357,800.
“Sadly, we rung in the new year reaching a new record milestone of $34 trillion in national debt,” said Michael A. Peterson.
Tax expenditures can come in the form of exclusions, exemptions, deductions, and credits.
High healthcare spending is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if it leads to better health outcomes. However, that is not the case in the United States.
On November 10, 2023, Moody’s Investors Service lowered its outlook on the United States’ credit rating from “stable” to “negative.”
Although the debt affects each of us, it may be difficult to put such a large number into perspective and fully understand its implications.
"We are beginning a new year, but our national debt remains on the same damaging and unsustainable path," said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
