congress

Last week, Warren Buffett wrote an incredible opinion piece in The New York Times asking the government to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, himself included. "My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress," he argued, and he's not alone in that view.

You practically have to be an accountant to manage your family's health care these days. The good news is, some lawmakers seem to recognize this and are working toward changes to one program that should be well received by employers, employees and doctors alike.

As the debt ceiling insanity in Washington goes on, all that's certain is that the government is rapidly running low on cash to pay the bills. The amount left is now roughly $73.8 billion -- which sounds like a lot, until you realize that Apple's cash reserves are $2 billion more than that.

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.

It looks like Apple stock is one of the places skittish investors are moving money ahead of a potential U.S. debt default -- at least based on its share price. Apple's shares have risen 2% in the last week as the S&P has lost nearly 3% of its value.

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."

Described as a "fear tactic" by critics, the White House warned Tuesday that if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling soon, come August, millions of Social Security recipients may find themselves without a check. The comments were met with a firestorm of criticism by seniors and their advocates.

Bank of America will soon finalize an $8.5 billion agreement to settle investor claims that Countrywide sold them lousy mortgage-backed securities before the housing bust. Meanwhile, private regulator FINRA is angling to take over the watchdog role for registered investment advisers.

Forget for a moment about whether or not embattled Congressman Anthony Weiner should stay or go. The real question is: Should his wife? Even though Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, hasn't expressed any plans to dump her husband in the wake of his sexting scandal, the blogosphere – and especially...

Getting even a tentative handle on the multi-trillion dollar federal budget is no easy matter. Still, as the debate surrounding U.S. spending, taxes and the looming debt ceiling continues, it's worth asking: Exactly how does America spend all that cash, and what do the choices being debated really mean?