national debt

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Obama: Expect Trillion-Dollar Deficits

(Newser) - Barack Obama delivered yet another dose of sobering economic news today—the nation should expect to run trillion-dollar deficits for multiple years, the Washington Post reports. The once unthinkable sum—we're already well on our way toward it in fiscal 2009—is more than double the previous high. Obama acknowledged...

4 Financial Doomsday Scenarios
 4 Financial Doomsday Scenarios 
ANALYSIS
Dec 17, 2008 11:20 AM CST

4 Financial Doomsday Scenarios

(Newser) - James Rickards is far more pessimistic about the economic crisis and its global implications than most of his analyst colleagues, Politico reports. But he’s also well respected by US intelligence and defense services. Here are four of his nightmare scenarios.
  • Terrorism: Al-Qaeda has long sought to disrupt the US 
...

Jittery About Loss, Investors Stuff Cash In 0% T-Bills

Willing to take nothing for their money

(Newser) - The results of yesterday’s short-term bond auction were staggering. Investors snapped up $30 billion worth of Treasuries at a 0% yield—essentially lending the government money for free, the New York Times reports. Earlier, some investors even accepted a negative yield to park their cash in three-month Treasury bills....

Tax Hikes Loom as Deficit Nears $1T
 Tax Hikes Loom as 
 Deficit Nears $1T 
ANALYSIS
Oct 16, 2008 10:03 AM CDT

Tax Hikes Loom as Deficit Nears $1T

Blue or red, next president may need to boost revenues with increase

(Newser) - The bailout and other government spending are adding on to an already-enormous US budget deficit, and the next president might well have to raise taxes, no matter who it is, the Christian Science Monitor reports. This fiscal year will put the US down nearly $1 trillion, one nonpartisan group estimates,...

Times Square Debt Ticker Runs Out of Numbers

$10 trillion national debt takes up too much space for mounting tally

(Newser) - America's national debt has outgrown the ticker designed to draw attention to it, the BBC reports. The Times Square counter, set up in 1989 when the debt was a mere $2.7 trillion, ran out of space for digits recently when the debt ballooned to more than $10 trillion. Its...

What Will Taxpayers Shell Out for All This?
What Will Taxpayers Shell
Out for All This?
analysis
Sep 28, 2008 1:44 PM CDT

What Will Taxpayers Shell Out for All This?

Some bailouts are more risky, some less—and add up to $1 trillion

(Newser) - If a $700 billion federal bailout sounds like a lot, it is—but Washington will actually shell out $1 trillion in all of its present and proposed plans. Between Henry Paulson's plan, and bailouts of Bear Stearns, AIG, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Wall Street Journal breaks down...

America's Real Financial Crisis? It's Debt
 America's Real Financial Crisis? It's Debt
opinion
Sep 28, 2008 5:23 AM CDT

America's Real Financial Crisis? It's Debt

US can't safely sell $700M in securities

(Newser) - Washington must stop selling debt as its top export if it wants to solve today's financial crisis, Justin Fox argues in Time. Political talk of the nation's staggering $731 billion deficit often centers on trade pacts and exchange rates. But "if the US simply stopped borrowing so much—if...

Bush Asks Congress for $700B Bailout Fund

President urges swift action, 'and the cleaner the better'

(Newser) - The Bush administration today formally asked Congress to authorize a $700 billion fund, administered by the Treasury Department, to help troubled financial institutions unload bad debt, the Washington Post reports. The figure is $200 billion higher than legislators were led to expect yesterday, and the national debt limit would be...

Federal Budget Deficit More Than Doubles, to $407B

Stimulus package contributed; figure is expected to break record in fiscal '09

(Newser) - The federal deficit will swell to $407 billion in the fiscal year that ends this month, the Washington Post reports, a figure more than twice last year’s total. Congressional budget analysts blamed the surge on weak revenue growth and accelerated spending, including the $168 billion economic stimulus package. They...

General Election Starts Coming Into Focus

McCain, Obama focus on Democrat's economic agenda

(Newser) - Barack Obama launched a 2-week economic tour today, prompting dueling press releases, Time reports. Obama kicked off the one-on-one stage of the election by vowing to “restore fairness and balance to our economy,” and John McCain's campaign countered by saying the Democratic nominee "doesn’t understand the...

Improved Deficit Can't Last
Improved Deficit Can't Last
Jul 13, 2007 5:24 AM CDT

Improved Deficit Can't Last

US faces huge future budget crunch

(Newser) - The federal deficit is falling: The OMB yesterday predicted a $205 billion deficit for 2007, down from last year and half of what it was at the peak in 2004. But the fiscal good news is not likely to last, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The OMB also predicts the...

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