One of the major issues not addressed as part of the recent deal on the fiscal cliff is the future of the major entitlement programs – Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.Entitlements are programs that pay benefits to anyone who applies for them and meets the eligibility requirements for that specific ...

Last week’s fiscal cliff deal left much unresolved – no agreement on raising the debt ceiling, the fiscal year 2013 budget is still incomplete, and there was no more than a delay in dealing with one of the major components of the cliff: sequestration.

Here are the top 5 things you need to know  about the fiscal cliff deal enacted by Congress this week: 1)  Extends the Bush-Era Tax Cuts: The Bush-era tax cuts were scheduled to expire on Dec. 31. The tax cuts benefited nearly every American taxpayer, though they offered the most ...

I recently read an article that compared the gridlock in Washington, D.C. to living next to a railroad track with trains constantly going by – eventually you don’t even notice it. But with the fiscal cliff looming, concerns about the inability of Congress to get anything done are mounting.So it ...

The White House is preparing an emergency funding request to help repair the damages caused by hurricane Sandy. Although final details are not yet available, the request is expected to be for about $50 billion.This is considerably below the total amount requested by states which suffered severe damage from Sandy. ...

In the wake of the elections, Democrats and Republicans are pledging to work together to solve the fiscal cliff and other daunting challenges that confront the current lame duck session of Congress.But how likely is that, really? For example, both sides claim that the election was a mandate for their ...

Now that the elections are over, in Washington it’s all about the fiscal cliff. If you haven’t heard that phrase yet, you will soon. And often.The term “fiscal cliff” refers to the combination of two major events that will occur at the end of the year should Congress fail to ...

The two presidential candidates have put forth very different proposals on nearly every issue, and now it's up to voters to choose the path our country will take for years to come. From Medicare to education to budget deficits, here's where the candidates stand on 12 key issues:   Candidate ...

During Monday’s presidential debate both candidates discussed their plans for future Pentagon spending. Gov. Romney claimed that President Obama would cut $1 trillion from the Pentagon’s budget, while President Obama questioned how Gov. Romney would fund $2 trillion in new Pentagon spending.So what’s going on here? Let’s look at some ...

Because the Social Security program is an earned benefit programs – future beneficiaries pay into the system while they are members of the work force – it is often assumed that your benefits are based on your contributions to the program. In this model, Social Security operates like a government ...