Budget Matters Blog


Those Automatic Cuts Triggered by the Super Committee

 Last week I wrote about how automatic, across-the-board cuts scheduled to take effect in 2013 may never take place—because a new Congress can choose not to uphold budget cuts legislated by our current Congress.  But it’s also worth asking, if the next Congress does uphold these automatic cuts, called “sequestration,” ...

Let's Make a Deal – Or Not

With its Nov. 23 deadline looming, members of the congressional “Super Committee” have a range of options as they try to find at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade. Here are some of the possibilities:A Grand Bargain:  President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner tried negotiating ...

Money Out—Also, Money In

There’s so much talk these days about federal deficits and cutting spending. So we at NPP thought it would be good to talk about tax revenues—the other half of the budget picture—and not just about spending (For some background on how the budget works, check out the People’s Guide to ...

Debt-Ceiling Debacle Mach 2: The Super Committee

Do you remember (as unpleasant as it may be) the debt-ceiling fiasco that happened a little more than a month ago?  Well in case you need a refresher, the end result called for an immediate $917 billion in spending cuts over the next 10 years. The rest of the proverbial ...

England: You're Doing it Wrong — Lessons from London for the Super Committee

England certainly seems like a long ways away my friends, both in terms of miles (or kilometers) and humor. And perhaps that’s a good thing considering the onerous prison sentences doled out as a result of the recent London riots. But as many of you on our Facebook page have ...