Free Republic

At the end of 2009, the total federal debt was $12.3 trillion—a staggering amount of money. Now, it stands at an astonishing $23.1 trillion. That’s roughly $180,500 of debt for every U.S. household. It is important for Americans to understand how we got here, and what lawmakers can do to bring back fiscal sanity. Poor Handling of the Financial Crisis The federal government entered the 2010s with sky-high annual deficits. This had two primary causes. First, the Great Recession reduced incomes and profits, which meant a sharp decrease in tax revenue. A slow economic recovery kept tax revenue relatively low...

The massive spending deal, negotiated by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and agreed to by the president, looks poised to kill off the Budget Control Act of 2011—the law that was meant to restrain federal spending. With that law on the way out, the question arises: Where can fiscal conservatives turn to exert real and lasting fiscal discipline? Thankfully, two members of Congress have introduced a bill to do just that. The Maximizing America’s Prosperity Act—or MAP Act—is a bill proposed by Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., that would limit federal spending...

When President Donald Trump begrudgingly signed a budget deal he called “ridiculous” in order to get increases for the military budget, he asserted: “I’m not going to do it again.” That was 16 months ago. Now, the Trump administration and House Democrats reportedly have reached a deal to suspend the debt limit temporarily and increase spending by more than $300 billion with only limited cuts. Around 5:45 p.m. in Washington, the president tweeted: "I am pleased to announce that a deal has been struck with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Nancy...

As news circulated Tuesday that President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are eyeing a $2 trillion infrastructure spending package, the House Republican Study Committee introduced a budget proposal that recognizes that America’s $22 trillion—and rapidly growing—national debt is unsustainable, and that Congress must change course. “Preserving American Freedom,” the Republican Study Committee’s comprehensive fiscal 2020 budget proposal, would rein in Washington’s spending addiction by prioritizing core constitutional functions. By reducing inappropriate and wasteful spending and right-sizing the federal government, the committee’s proposal would balance the budget in six years and start...

To watch the recent happenings on Capitol Hill, you would think this was just another typical presidential election year—a few bumps here and there, but no sign of a major shake-up, no indication voters were in revolt, nothing to suggest business as usual in Washington was perhaps falling out of fashion among the American public. What else explains the lackluster, uninspiring, and I would suggest, “sell-out your base” agenda of GOP congressional leadership? For example, the Senate GOP sold out its base on the issue of Common Core this week...... That’s right, despite the fact Congress passed a Budget Control...

The Republicans are desperately losing the government shutdown battle and they’re embarrassing themselves by continuing to fight. It begs many questions, but most importantly, why does the GOP continue to fight a battle with no clear goal at the expense of not just their party, but the fate of then entire U.S. government? Maybe it’s because they’re actually winning. Though the media has largely painted the GOP as the reckless, kamikaze caucus, Peter Beinart argues in a column for The Daily Beast that Republicans are not only in perfect control of the government shutdown fight, but that they’ll win in...

Fiscal cliff: “Fiscal cliff” is the popular shorthand term used to describe the conundrum that the U.S. government will face at the end of 2012, when the terms of the Budget Control Act of 2011 are scheduled to go into effect. Among the laws set to change at midnight on December 31, 2012, are the end of last year’s temporary payroll tax cuts (resulting in a 2% tax increase for workers), the end of certain tax breaks for businesses, shifts in the alternative minimum tax that would take a larger bite, the end of the tax cuts from 2001-2003, and...

Worries about the U.S. economy pushed stocks to the longest losing streak in nearly three years, sending the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index to a 2011 closing low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 265.87 points, or 2.2%, to 11866.62, on Tuesday. The blue-chip index's eighth consecutive decline marks its longest losing streak since October 2008. It has lost 6.7% during the skid, dating back to July 22. This is only the sixth time the Dow has dropped eight straight days in more than 30 years.

Schock Votes for Spending Discipline House of Representatives Passes Budget Control Act Washington, Aug 1 - Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) issued the following statement today after the House of Representatives passed the Budget Control Act of 2011: “The passage of the Budget Control Act represents a serious shift in the mindset of how Washington has approached raising the debt limit. Congress has rightly focused this debate on how much to cut, instead of how much to spend. This year began with the President’s call on Congress to raise the debt limit by $2 trillion with zero cuts. The President was...