national debt

What's Really Behind the Stock Market Rally?

So far, the stock market has avoided a spring slump like it experienced during the past three years, and some market watchers credit that to one clever UMass graduate student.

The 10 Biggest Things Your Income Taxes Pay For

Now that tax season is over, it's natural to wonder exactly where the hard-earned dollars you paid in income tax over the past year actually went.

Don't Fear a Moody's Downgrade - Fear a China Slowdown

Credit rating agency Moody's is threatening to downgrade U.S. debt if Washington doesn't get its act together soon -- which could (perhaps) increase the government's borrowing costs. That would be troublesome, but the really scary U.S. debt problem is China's economic slowdown.

Get Ready, America: The Debt Ceiling Debate Is Back

The U.S. is again closing in on its debt limit, and if a recent statement by Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner is any indication, another fight with the Obama administration over the issue is ahead. Here's a preview of what we might expect.

Gen Y's Troubles: You'll Never Guess Who's Really to Blame

Today's economy is especially rough for the young members of Generation Y. And it's hard not feel sympathetic for them ... until you hear this alarming tidbit: Gen Y believes that success comes through luck. Yes, luck, not hard work.

Interactive Calculator Shows You Exactly Where Your Taxes Go

As April 17 approaches, politicians and pundits of all stripes are taking potshots at the usual tax-debate villains. But there's never much talk about exactly how are our tax dollars are really spent.

How Uncle Sam Spends Your Taxes: The U.S. Budget in 8 Easy Bites

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.

Why Taxing the Rich Is Good for America

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.

How U.S. Debt Stacks Up Against Other Nations

It's true that the U.S. has racked up the largest debt of any developed country. But when you consider the debt in relation to the country's gross domestic product, it's only No. 7 on the list, according to Fortune. Here's what you need to know to make sense of all the numbers.

Debt-Ceiling Law: States Brace for Another Hit

The debt-ceiling discussions may be over, but the fallout for states is just starting. Many states, still struggling to recover to pre-recession levels, have depended on federal money to make up their shortfalls. As the flow of money slows, which states will take the biggest hits?

Five Takeaways from the Debt Debate

As the debt-ceiling discussion winds down in Washington and everyone laments over the meaning and mutual downside of compromise, the economy is still in trouble. But we learned some lessons along the way. Here are some key points from the debacle.

Debt Hawks, Take Your Own (Virtual) Axe to the Budget

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.

Digging Into the U.S. Budget: What We Spend, and How

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?

Where's an Extra $1 Trillion in Spending Going?

Washington now spends that much more than it did a mere three years ago. But trying to figure out what we're getting for all that extra money is no simple matter. A lot of slicing and dicing does yield some answers -- none of which are very satisfying.

Uncle Sam Wants You. . .to Buy Treasury Bonds

The Treasury has to find buyers for trillions of dollars in new bonds needed to fund the federal deficit. It hopes average citizens will pony up and invest in some $337 billion worth. But for a host of reasons, "safe" T-bonds might not be a winning investment for you.

U.S. National Debt Is Huge, but It's Not a Catastrophe

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.

Top American Spending Priorities: Education, Social Security and Medicare

If the government budget follows popular sentiment, education, social security and Medicare are safe. Those are the areas where fewest Americans want to see government spending cuts, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.

Tea Party Leaders Say They'd Back Defense Cuts

The Tea Party says everything is on the table regarding its goal to cut federal spending and balance the budget -- including defense spending. If the political faction succeeds in cutting military spending, not only would the U.S. economy benefit, national security could well be strengthened.

Getting to Zero: How Congress Could Balance the Federal Budget

It took about 10 years of decisions for the federal budget to get more than a trillion dollars out of whack, and it's going to take at least five years to balance it again. The only way to do it is piece-by-piece, with equal sacrifices from both Republicans and Democrats.

The Higher the Debt Ceiling, the Deeper the Hole

When some new members of Congress recently said they oppose raising the U.S. debt limit, it triggered warnings of "catastrophic consequences." Indeed, the result wouldn't be pretty. But here's what's at stake as the country's debt burden swells every year.

Moody's, S&P May Downgrade U.S. Debt Rating

Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's are both considering downgrading their ratings on U.S. debt because of rising interest-to-revenue ratios, the nation's jobless recovery, and rising Social Security and health care costs, among other factors, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Why Interest Rates Keep Rising, Despite QE2

The Federal Reserve is doling out billions to buy bonds in hopes of keeping interest rates low and stimulating the economy. However, several powerful forces are working against that low-rate strategy, ranging from investor psychology to global competition for capital.

After Portugal's Bond Sale, Now It's Spain's Turn

Just a day after a successful bond auction in Portugal, Spain hopes to raise up to $3.9 billion in its first debt auction of the year. The auction will be a key test of investor appetite for European bonds.

A Rising Economy Is Pushing Down Treasurys

Doomsayers insist the recent rapid rise in yields means the nation's creditors are finally getting fed up with financing U.S. deficits. But a stronger argument says the cause is better-than-expected economic reports that have been piling up recently.

The Good News Behind the Growing National Debt

The deficit grew to a higher-than-expected $150.4 billion in November as government spending increased for the month. But November brought some bright spots as well: Federal revenue also grew at a higher rate in November, which confirms that the economy is expanding.

New Deficit Plan Retains Social Security Cuts

The new plan to reduce the national deficit, expected to be released Wednesday, includes many of the highly controversial proposals from the previous version, including increasing the Social Security age and reducing benefits from the program.

Greenspan: Deficit Fears Could Trigger Bond Market Crisis

The U.S. must act to rein in its massive budget deficits or face the risk of a bond market crisis, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said Sunday. If deficits begin to frighten the bond market, interest rates will rise, undermining the recovery, and possibly causing a double-dip recession.