federal debt

If tax rates rise -- and experts say they will -- a way to grow your money tax-free starts looking mighty good. Meet the Roth IRA.

Taxes. We resent paying them, yet, for the most part, they fund things we'd rather not do without. But exactly how much of our money is going to each service? The White House has made it easy to answer that question. So here's a receipt for where your tax dollars are spent.

The debt ceiling debate is raging inside the Beltway, but many Americans are tuning it out. And among those paying attention, a majority would ignore the consequences and let the U.S. default. Find out who they'd chose to stiff first -- and tell us who you think the country shouldn't pay if it has to skip out on some of its obligations.

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?

Even the phrase "debt ceiling" sounds like something too far removed from daily life to be of much interest. But ignoring the political battle over this issue would be a mistake: How the government handles the nation's debt limit will directly affect our personal finances in all sorts of important ways.

U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan promises his proposed 2012 federal budget is the solution to America's money woes. But is the Tea Party favorite's plan based in reality, or does it rely on impossible numbers and fairy tales?

Unless lawmakers can agree on budget legislation to keep the federal government running, a shutdown at midnight Friday looms. If it happens, there will be a few clear winners, some who break even and a whole lot of losers.

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.

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.

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.