Budget Matters Blog

The Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year passed quietly this year, as Congress recessed in mid-September so House and Senate members could return to their districts to campaign before the critical November elections. Members plan to return to Washington in mid-November for a “lame duck” session of Congress, during which there will be pressure to address a number of major issues.

Incidentally, if you’re wondering about the phrase, “lame ducks” are those members of Congress who lost their election (or did not seek another term), but are still in office because their term has not yet officially ...

These days, it’s fashionable for any candidate for federal office to talk about how quickly he’ll reduce the budget deficit, which totaled around $1.1 trillion in fiscal 2012.  And you’re going to hear talk about the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan and more like it in the coming debates.  But immediate deep deficit reduction will reverse the economic recovery, and that fact is left out of election rhetoric.  Think of it this way: If you woke up tomorrow and learned that Washington had solved the deficit crisis and you’d lost your job, would you celebrate? Of ...

NPP's research team live-tweeted the first Presidential debate of the 2012 election, injecting budget-related facts into the discussion. The conversation covered a lot of ground, from taxes and deficits to spending on education, healthcare, and the military.

There's plenty of beyond-the-spin facts yet to come, so be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook. If Twitter isn't your thing, not to worry–below is our top 5 fact-checking tweets from last night.

1. Is the federal government getting bigger?

Has the size of government grown under @barackobama? bit.ly/DebunkingBudge… #debates

— National Priorities ...

During the upcoming presidential debates there will likely be a lot of attention paid on what the role of government ought to be. As taxpayers, you and I account for over 80 percent of the government’s annual revenues from our income taxes and our payroll tax deductions that fund Social Security and Medicare. We also contribute still more tax dollars through excise and estate taxes. In other words, regular people account for the lion’s share of the federal government's income.So, how does this money come back to us? There are four main ways:First, the federal ...

The first of three presidential debates is scheduled for Wednesday. We don't know precisely what topics the candidates will cover, but we can make some educated guesses. And one reader from Duluth, Minnesota, wrote in to ask us about a likely topic: the much-debated 2009 stimulus, which greatly increased federal spending for several years. The stimulus package – officially called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) – was passed under President Obama's leadership. The president and his team were famously over-optimistic about how quickly the economy would recover, and that has made stimulus spending an easy target for his ...

It turns out that even people who are knowledgeable about the federal budget are surprised by the potential impact of sequestration – the automatic spending cuts set to go into effect at the end of this year.This week I had the opportunity to return to Ohio, a critical swing state in the presidential elections and for determining which party will control the U.S. Senate. I was there at the invitation of the Center for Community Solutions and Cleveland Peace Action, to speak on the federal budget before the Human Service Advocates Network. The event was hosted by the Cleveland ...

This election season has put a lot of focus on Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly. There’s been less emphasis on Medicaid, the health program for low-income Americans, though both President Obama and Governor Romney would dramatically change Medicaid. Currently Medicaid serves mainly children, the disabled, and senior citizens, including those who require long-term care.

Medicare

President Obama does not propose fundamental change to Medicare. He’s been attacked for cutting $716 billion from the program, though none of those savings come from reduced benefits for seniors. Instead, that number reflects changes to Medicare Advantage, reduced ...

Lila Carpenter is from Belfast, Maine. She's starting her first year at New York University, where she'll be studying political science.

I used to be oblivious to the inner workings of my pay stub, and how the taxes I pay are used by the federal government. As a recent high school graduate, working two jobs and preparing for college, reading A People’s Guide to the Federal Budget has been a real eye-opener. As I prepare to vote for the first time this fall, and enter into college as a political science major, I am more aware of ...

Greg from Portland, Oregon e-mailed last week and asked, “The House just passed a major spending bill. Does this mean the big funding cuts for education I’ve been hearing about won’t happen? I’m a teacher, and we’ve been hearing all sorts of scary [stuff] about these cuts.”What Greg is referring to is the automatic across-the-board spending cuts – known as “sequestration” – that are scheduled to go into effect at the end of the year. The short answer to your question, Greg, is “no, the cuts may still happen.”

Here’s the longer answer. Each year Congress ...

This fall we're launching the incredible stories of Americans across the country in a project called Faces of the Budget. National Priorities Project has been gathering the stories of every-day people and how they've been affected by the spending and tax policies of the federal budget. Since all of us are affected by the federal budget in various ways – even if we don’t realize it – everyone has a story to tell.

We'll be sharing the words and stories of regular Americans on Facebook. If you'd like to share your story, please contact us.

Today I ...