federal deficit

Here's a measure of both how important Social Security is and the problems it faces: the program will actually run a deficit over the next two years because fewer people are paying in and more are applying for benefits.

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.

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

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.

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

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?

Everyone occasionally has spit-take moments over the morning news. For some people, the New York Times story, "China Losing Taste for Debt From U.S.," is one of them.

A trillion-dollar deficit is scary. So is a possible second Great Depression. But scarier still would be trying to solve these problems without real input from the public.