Virginia County Tells Residents: Balance Our Budget Yourselves
Everyone grumbles about their elected officials, and how they could write a better budget in their sleep. Fairfax County, Virgina, is letting its residents give it a shot.
balanced budget
Congress Moves to Finally Approve 2013 Budget
Congress is finally cleaning up its unfinished budget business for the long-underway 2013 budget year with a bipartisan funding bill -- but stark differences remain.
GOP Proposal Promises Balanced Budget, Repeal Of 'Obamacare'
The latest Republican budget plan generally resembles prior ones, relying on higher tax revenues enacted in January and improved Medicare cost estimates to promise balance.
9 Ways the Sequester Will Affect You
The sequester will be tough on government employees, and on those whose jobs are directly supported by them. But even if you don't run a Jiffy Lube across the street from a military base, you still need to be prepared. Here's are eight unexpected ways the sequester will likely touch your life.
Obama Presses Congressional Republicans to Avert Sequester
President Barack Obama is urging congressional Republicans to accept more tax revenue in order to avert the sequester -- an $85 billion, across-the-board budget cut due to take effect March 1 that could derail America's still stuttering economic recovery.
Report: U.S. to Lose 2 Million Jobs If Automatic Spending Cuts Hit
Automatic cuts in federal spending will cost the economy more than 2 million jobs, from defense contracting to border security to education, if Congress fails to resolve the looming budget crisis, according to an analysis released Tuesday.
Obama Win Could Cost Romney $5 Million in Personal Taxes
Under his own tax proposal, Mitt Romney would pay half what he would under President Obama's tax plan, saving him almost $5 million a year. But if Romney wins, Obama could save as much as $90,000 a year.
How Uncle Sam Spends Your Taxes: The U.S. Budget in 8 Easy Bites
Almost everyone agrees the federal deficit is a ticking bomb, but when it comes to ideas for solving the problem, some are contradictory and all are controversial. No wonder: If you look at where the money actually goes, it's easy to see why it's so hard to balance the budget.
Some Actors Say 'Action!' on Higher Taxes for Wealthy
Before President Obama outlined his strategy Monday for America's millionaires to shoulder more of the tax burden, The Price of Fame asked show business types at the recent Toronto International Film Festival this burning question: Should celebrities and other wealthy people pay more in taxes?
Debt Hawks, Take Your Own (Virtual) Axe to the Budget
Think you can do better than Congress in coming up with a balanced U.S. budget? Several smartphone apps let you play along with all the fiscal fun happening in Washington. Raise taxes on market speculators? Cut spending on social services? You decide, and these apps will show you the results.
What Stops When a State Gov't Shuts Down?
The government of Minnesota has been essentially shuttered for a week since the governor and legislature failed to find a compromise solution for the state's $5 billion shortfall. But it's hard to imagine what it means to "shut down" a state of 5.3 million people. Here's what it means to them.
Time to Kill the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction?
With proposals from both President Obama and GOP leaders to broaden the tax base, it seems likely that some cherished income tax deductions may be reduced or even eliminated, and one leading candidate for the chopping block is the deduction for mortgage interest.
Public Employee Benefits: The Numbers Behind the Debate
Let's take the politics out of the debate over public sector unions and their benefits, and look strictly at the figures. When you strip away the rhetoric, you can chart two macroeconomic trends and two patterns of fiscally foolish assumptions that have put both states and unions into this mess.
Obama's 2012 Budget: Why Federal Spending Needs to Be Raised, Not Cut
President Obama's proposed spending plan seeks to slash $1.1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade. Republican House Speaker John Boehner says that's too little. In this case, both Obama and Boehner are wrong. The nation doesn't need to spend less. It needs to spend more -- a lot more.