The Heritage Foundation’s 2009 Federal Revenue and Spending Book of Charts is one of the most heavily trafficked features on our homepage. Here, by traffic, are the Top Ten Charts of 2009: 10. Federal Spending per Household Is Skyrocketing
Last week’s Wall Street Journal called attention to an issue that most policymakers in Washington don’t want to talk about: President Obama and Congress’ ever-growing welfare state will quickly undermine national security and military strength similar to many European countries. Indeed, declining military strength will limit the choices available to …
Congress doesn’t want you to know it, but they are about to raise the debt limit because they’ve spent the full $12.1 trillion allowed on their taxpayer-funded credit card. They’re hoping you won’t notice because they’re trying to sneak the increase into some other “must-pass” measure, such as the upcoming …
Ten democratic Senators recently issued an important call to action for Majority Leader Harry Reid to support efforts to get America’s long-term fiscal imbalance under control. One can only hope Senator Reid listens. As the letter notes, America is already $12 trillion in debt and, in the next decade, will …
Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) has proposed a novel way to strengthen the House Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rule. PAYGO – which requires that all legislation expanding entitlements or cutting taxes be fully offset – has been exposed an ineffective gimmick. PAYGO exempts discretionary spending increases (which comprise 40 percent of the budget) …
Sometime next month the Senate will be forced to raise the federal debt limit beyond a record $12.1 trillion. While the current recession has exacerbated the problem, our rising national deficits are actually a structural problem a long time in the making. In the coming decades, the cost of Social …