Undead Economics
Lately Republicans have been justifying adding to the public debt with an argument I had thought was dead and buried. Q: “If you are so worried about the federal government having to borrow to pay ....
Category: Taxing and Spending
Federal Budget at a Glance
Think that no matter how random, cruel, chaotic and illegal DOGE’s cuts are, at least they are bringing long-overdue budget discipline to the federal government? Think again. The agencies Trump has sicced his DOGE on ....
Trump’s Attack on America
January 6 was not just a riot or a protest gone wrong. January 6 was Donald Trump’s attempted coup. Returning him to power will tell him that he can break any rules and the nation ....
Trade: Comparing Countries
Everybody is talking about trade deficits but few know how big they are. I will try to remedy that. I am looking at the import and export of goods and services. The trade surplus is ....
Waste, Fraud, and Abuse?
The problem with the actions of Trump, Musk, and DOGE, is that unfortunately they seem to be increasing waste, fraud, and abuse. To start with, the idea that their cuts will fix government overspending is ....
State of the Economy
With President Biden giving his State of the Union address yesterday, this is a good time to look at the state of the economy. Here are graphs showing where the economy has been going the ....
United States Annual Budget, Part II
The federal government spent about 6.4 trillion dollars ($6.4 T) in Fiscal Year 2022 (October 2021 to September 2022). That’s about a quarter of the United States’ 25 trillion-dollar GDP, or about $20,000 per person ....
United States Annual Budget, Part I
Some day I’d like to write an Owners’ Manual to the United States with a summary of how our country operates – things many of us know hazily but can get easily confused on the ....
Five Years of Recent History
So much has been going on lately in the news that I created a chart to keep track of all (that is: some) of it. Right before the election seemed like a good time to ....
Virginia Voters Face Clear Climate Choices in Congressional Races
The US is on the cusp of cleaning up our economy in order to avert dangerous levels of climate change, but the hour is late and what our political leaders do now is critical. As ....