Federal deficit

Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute explains why the feds should not throw more money at state governments. President Biden and the Democrats are including $350 billion in aid for the states in their $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. But state and local budgets are in decent shape, and…

General Fund revenue from state taxes should reach $27.6 billion by the end of June, which would be 16% higher than in FY2019-20, according to the consensus revenue forecast from the governor’s Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) and the General Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division. That could give…

As official Washington deepens its commitment to deficits and debt regardless of potential inflation or other repercussions, I recently came across an International Monetary Fund working paper by Paulo Mauro and Jing Zhou who found, “Government borrowing costs [on new debt] often rise abruptly and sharply, but just…

James Antle of the Washington Examiner explores possible relief from the worst parts of the latest federal stimulus package. President Trump signed the $900 billion COVID-19 economic rescue package he called a “disgrace” in time to avert a government shutdown. Now, he wants to go back and excise…

Lindsay Marchello and Kari Travis of Carolina Journal Online review “Grillgate” and other hot items in N.C. politics this week. Michael LaFaive and Joseph Coletti’s Daily Journal explains why the federal government can’t afford more bailouts of state and local governments.

Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute responds to a popular narrative about federal aid. As Congress debates another federal aid package, media stories are portraying state-local governments as facing financial Armageddon. New second quarter data from the BEA shows that is a false narrative. Total state-local tax revenues fell…

Editors at the New York Post caution readers to beware of questionable government stimulus proposals. With negotiations over a (yes!) fifth COVID-19 rescue package at an impasse, President Trump took action on his own Saturday, signing executive orders on a number of “stimulus” measures. Whether his actions or…

Robert VerBruggen of National Review Online highlights the latest haggling on Capitol Hill over COVID-19. You can give House Democrats credit for one thing: When they realized that another COVID-19 relief bill would be necessary, they got right on it. Their HEROES Act — I won’t bore you…