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 ...

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 (and if you have time, check out out this ...

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 ...

We've added two new food-related indicators to the Federal Priorities Database: WIC benefits and WIC participation.

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. ...

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 ...

Oh Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done; Our ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won; The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting! Well...not quite. Although I'm sure our elected officials across the political spectrum would like to claim the ...

If you're like most humans, when you see “Appropriations Committee Releases Fiscal Year 2012 Financial Services Appropriations Bill” your eyes probably wander to see if there's any grass growing or paint drying nearby. And if you're under 25 you probably didn't even read the whole thing, did you? Well you ...

Earlier this week I went to Washington, D.C. for the international conference of RESULTS, a nonpartisan organization working to end hunger and poverty by empowering individuals to exercise their personal and political power. The goal of RESULTS is captured in this quote by former Oregon Republican Senator Mark Hatfield:“We stand ...

That’s the message that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates got from President Hamid Karzai when he visited Afghanistan in December 2009. At that time, President Karzai told Sec. Gates that the Afghan government would not be able to shoulder the costs of the nation’s new security forces – both national ...