ScottBittle's blog

The official federal deficit numbers won't be out until next week, but based on this AP story we can already anticipate one point of confusion that makes it harder for the public to deal with this issue.

We've already posed the question of "Where does the money go?" but what does the federal government do when the money doesn't show up in the first place?

Fortune magazine's cover story on Social Security is today's must-read budget article, and while you can quarrel with their stance that the program will need a "bailout," the story makes a vital point, which is that Social Security's troubles are much closer than most people think

Health care is the most talked-about topic in Washington this week, but is all the talk actually helping people come to grips with this issue?

The Senate's decision to stop funding for F-22 Raptor fighters is a victory for the Obama administration, but it also serves as an object lesson in how much work it takes to make cuts in the federal budget.

President Obama's announcement that he'll support so-called "pay as you go" legislation is getting most of the coverage today, but if you care about the federal deficit and national debt,

There's no shortage of depressing numbers in the news today, but one set of numbers in particular deserves to be flagged.

The economic crisis is taking its toll on all sorts of things, and it turns out Social Security and Medicare are no different.

The Obama administration will likely face a fierce fight over the $17 billion in budget cuts it proposed today – but don't t

As the projections for the national debt keep going worse and worse, a lot of people are probably wondering one thing: Can we really get away with this?