A day after winning EU approval for a huge bank bailout, Spain's government imposed further austerity on the country Wednesday as it unveiled sales tax hikes and spending cuts aimed at shaving $79.85 billion off the state budget over the next two and a half years.
On Thursday, Stockton, Calif., became the biggest U.S. city ever to file for bankruptcy. But the real worry is how many other cities could be headed in the same direction, because the problems that busted Stockton are everywhere these days.
Conservative politicians have spent the past few months venting their ire on America's entitlement programs, and the alleged mass of lazy layabouts who make use of them. But a closer look at who actually lands in the social safety net reveals some surprising facts.
President Obama's proposed cuts to national defense spending have critics in a panicked tizzy. But while the document outlining his plan suggests that real change is afoot, it clearly contradicts the outlandish claims of its detractors.
Just as the U.S. economy is making progress despite Europe's turmoil, here come two new threats. A congressional panel is supposed to agree by Thanksgiving on a deficit-reduction package of at least $1.2 trillion. If it fails, federal spending would automatically be cut by that amount starting in 2013.
On Tuesday, Texas Governor and GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry finally entered the tax debate with "Cut, Balance and Grow," a startling new flat tax plan that borrows freely from Herman Cain's 9-9-9 proposal. But would it help American workers, or slash, topple and shrink the U.S. economy?
Many European nations have deficits that make the U.S. look thrifty, and over a year after their problems came to light, they're still holding the worldwide recovery back. But because they share the euro, normal solutions aren't available, which means the EU must bite the bullet and accept an orderly default, or watch matters spiral downward.
Younger voters are weighing in extremely positively on President Obama's proposal to tax millionaires another $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years. According to a new survey, 80% of Americans under the age of 30 strongly support the move, while less than 9% oppose it.
What do Tea Partiers feed their families? On Monday, Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), met with MSNBC's Chris Jansing to discuss President Obama's proposed tax hikes on the wealthy. Rep. Fleming only brings home $600,000 a year, and his explanation of why that just isn't enough offers an interesting glimpse into the world of Tea Party economic theory.
Among the many ideas legislators in Washington have proposed for reducing federal spending is raising the age at which Americans qualify for Medicare benefits from 65 to 67. On the surface, that makes sense. But scratch the surface and the numbers show it to be an $11 billion blunder.
Now that Hurricane Irene has passed, it's time to get back to discussing the country's biggest unnatural disaster: the economy. But here, too, Irene is making her impact felt, as economists and pundits across the country debate whether the hurricane will help or hurt America's bottom line.
As the federal super committee looks for $1.5 trillion in cuts, it's clear that fixing the federal budget will mean tackling big items -- including Medicare, America's most popular social program and one of its most expensive.
More than 1 million of America's poorest college students may have to take out bigger loans, find another way to pay tuition, or drop out in 2012, if Republican budget cuts are passed that shrink the government's Pell grant program. But supporters are mobilizing in an online rally Monday for "Save Pell Day."
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.
Massive layoffs were both a cause and a symptom of the recent recession, but job creation began to revive late last year. Unfortunately, in May, the U.S. added only 58,000 jobs, and layoffs may be on the rise again. This time, they're taking a particular toll on state and local government workers.
LDK Solar has long depended on demand driven by government subsidies from countries such as Germany, Spain and Italy, which makes it vulnerable in this period of European austerity. Trefis has revised its estimates for LDK Solar down -- but still meaningfully above the market price.
For the nearly 14 million Americans who want to work and can't find jobs, unemployment insurance is a vital lifeline. But how much help that lifeline is varies widely from state to state. We crunched the numbers to see which states are the best -- and worst -- places to be unemployed.
The Republicans are winning this year's budget battle: Discretionary spending will decrease. But this is hardly the time for the GOP to take a victory lap: Next, the GOP will have to lower unemployment and improve the average American's daily life -- two areas where the party has historically come up short.
For public libraries, it's the best of times and the worst of times: Usage is skyrocketing, but budgets are being slashed. What to do? A few thriller authors are stepping in -- and using their time and fame to help organize fund-raising events for libraries. The goal is to create a national movement.
American labor unions have been in decline for a half-century now. About the only large unions still growing have been those in the public sector. Until now. Cash-strapped states are attacking unions where it hurts by trying to strip them of the right to collectively bargain.
University heads are lobbying President Obama to preserve funding for the Federal Perkins Loan Program, which provides loans to low-income students. Perhaps, however, if universities focused more on keeping tuition costs down -- rather than building luxury dorms -- students wouldn't need to rely on federally guaranteed loans to go to college.
A parade of Republicans immediately lined up to attack the president's proposed budget this week, claiming the plan falls short of making a real difference. They're right. And that's good, because really deep reductions are the last thing the economy needs right now.
In its latest report, the IMF applauds national policymakers for stabilizing credit markets and putting the global economy on a recovery track. However, thorny problems remain -- including how to prevent overheating in emerging markets, and how to cut the U.S. deficit while lowering its unemployment rate.
Without a doubt, this country's debt overhang needs to be chopped considerably. But does a large national debt doom a nation to economic ruin? Only if you believe that countries like Germany, France, and Japan are economic basket cases, too.
With the economic recovery gaining steam, President Obama's State of the Union address -- and the GOP response -- should be seen as a shift to a less activist approach. Feel-good rhetoric may be wiser than heavy-handed policies that could easily backfire.
Jared Lee Loughner, the disturbed young man charged in this weekend's massacre in Tuscon, highlights the physical dangers that individuals with untreated mental illness pose to society. But the financial costs of mental illness are high too.
Ahead of the G-20 summit in Toronto this weekend, billionaire investor George Soros warns that Germany's policy of fiscal austerity could put Europe in danger. Could the budget cuts ultimately destroy the euro and fracture the European Union?
Germany and Britain have announced plans to slash government spending, and many are worried this will torpedo the global recovery, including the fragile U.S. expansion. The first areas likely to feel the pain are U.S. exports and banks.
Have some pity for the Greeks. The budget cuts imposed by an EU/IMF financial bailout are so severe, citizens are rioting in the streets. If the U.S. couldn't borrow more money to pay off its debts, the IMF might require cuts in our budget deficit to Greece's 3% target in exchange for bailout funding.
Court systems nationwide are facing two forces that could merge into a major crisis in 2010: Caseloads driven by the recession are flooding the courts at the same time as judicial systems are being forced to deal with budget cuts.