budget cuts

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.