federal deficit

China's economy, the turbocharged engine of world growth, is starting to sputter. From a competitive standpoint, that may feel like good news, but what happens in Beijing doesn't stay in Beijing: The U.S. economy is inextricably linked to China's.

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.

Nobody enjoys paying taxes, so hearing that Congress is cutting the IRS budget might inspire you to applaud. But this is the agency that makes sure the rest of government gets funded, and stops the unscrupulous from dodging their fair share of the burden.

Fear is in the air on Wall Street. Unemployment is high, housing sales are sluggish and the dollar is weak. Now, to add insult to injury, Standard & Poor's has lowered its U.S. debt outlook to negative, putting the nation's AAA credit rating at risk. Fortunately, smart traders can benefit from these worries.

It's true that Social Security paid out more than it collected in 2010. But the Trust Fund owns $2.6 trillion in Treasury bonds, and though some people may claim those holdings are an illusion, they aren't. Still, there are some fairly painless steps we could take to shore up the program's balance sheet for the long term.

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.

Like all budgets, the federal government's spending plan is all about revenues and expenditures. Unfortunately, Uncle Sam is very good at grossly overestimating tax receipts and grossly underestimating spending. It's enough to make you wonder if any of it is real.

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.