Budget Matters Blog

We left off last week with a Boehner-Obama breakup that would've made the writers of Dawson's Creek green with envy. On Friday, it was rumored the two were close to striking a deal on the debt-ceiling, but then Boehner started acting all weird and not returning Barry's phone calls. So Obama was all like "what's going on? I thought we had something here?" So then Boehner comes out and says "sorry, but I just don't feel the same way...it's not me, it's you." Then Obama was all like, "whatever, your loss." ...I ...

We left off last week with the White House talks crumbling, the GOP rallying around the sure-to-fail Cut, Cap & Balance Act, and Sen. Mitch McConnell's “last ditch” plan gaining traction, at least in the Senate. Here's what's happening this week with the debt-ceiling (and if you have time check out out this op-ed from Joe Scarborough, even if you don't agree with his politics he has some great insights on the topic):Sunday, July 17House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Eric Cantor meet with President Obama at the White House. Boehner's office later ...

A LOT of people have been asking me for details of what's been going on with the debt-ceiling. And rightly so, there's a flood of information out there. But here's the important stuff:On Thursday, July 7, President Obama met with Congressional leaders at the White House in an attempt to break the impasse in the debt-ceiling negotiations.  Previous talks among the Gang of Six (really 5), and the Biden Group both broke down. The thinking here was that the Presidential gravitas might help to break the stalemate and get a deal hammered out before the United ...

If you're anything like me, it's because you simply don't make enough money to be taxed at the top marginal rate. A “marginal rate” is the rate at which your last dollar of earned-income is taxed. These “marginal dollars” are the dollars at the very upper edge of your income. The “top marginal rate” is simply the highest marginal rate in the U.S. tax code...something that most of us will never see.With discussion of raising taxes on the wealthy going on in the debt-ceiling talks right now, I've been noticing a lot of ...

Everybody wants to reduce the deficit, right? Elected officials across the political spectrum, business  and labor groups, even 81% of everyday Americans (according to a poll by the Pew Research Center) — all would like to see the federal deficit reduced. The thing is, it's incredibly difficult to get all these people with disparate interests to agree on exactly how to do it. Everybody wants to cut the deficit, but no one wants to see funding cuts (or ending tax breaks) to their “sacred cows.” So everything (that I like) is amazing and nobody's happy (with that).“...After the ...

Ask Kyle – Putting the “Bud” back in Federal BudgetWell...maybe. The actual answer is complicated. Although that might be an a reasonable conclusion to draw if you recently read that Congress was planning to slash more than $832 million from the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program. WIC helps low-income women and children receive such things as nutrition education, health care, and food....y'know, luxury items. According the Center on Budget Policies and Priorities, this loss could block assistance for up to 350,000 low-income women and children. Now keep in mind that $832 million represents just .02 ...

Greetings All,My name is Kyle Andrejczyk (pronounced ann-dray-zik) and I'm here to help. I invite you to join me this summer as we all try to navigate the murky waters of the federal budgetary process. If last year's budget process is any indicator, then the course ahead will surely be laden with snags, chokers and rocks that could easily sink any ship. In trying to make sense of what's happening in Washington, you can become overwhelmed with information just as if you tipped a canoe far enough to watch the water rush in over the edge ...