Federal Deficit

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Budget Caps Are Budget Cuts Article
Photo shows the Capitol building dome behind black fencing against a blue sky

Budget Caps Are Budget Cuts

The House Republican proposal to cap discretionary funding would lead to deep programmatic cuts, slashing funding by nearly 60 percent within a decade.

Bobby Kogan

Congress Must Raise the Debt Ceiling Article
Photo shows the inner dome of the U.S. Capitol building.

Congress Must Raise the Debt Ceiling

Failure to increase the debt ceiling would have a catastrophic impact on the economy and federal programs.

Jean Ross

Trump: Making the Trade Deficit Great Again Report

Trump: Making the Trade Deficit Great Again

President Trump’s combination of tax cuts, hawkish monetary policy, and financial deregulation will cause the U.S. dollar and trade deficit to rise.

Brendan Duke

We’ve Made Remarkable Progress Toward Reducing the Deficit Article
Dusk falls over the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, Monday, September 30, 2013. (AP/Evan Vucci)

We’ve Made Remarkable Progress Toward Reducing the Deficit

The Congressional Budget Office’s most recent budget projections show that the United States has made astounding progress toward reducing the federal budget deficit.

Michael Linden

Budget Cuts Set Funding Path to Historic Lows Report
The U.S. Supreme Court Building is seen in Washington, D.C. (AP/Susan Walsh)

Budget Cuts Set Funding Path to Historic Lows

Spending on a raft of key federal programs from airport security to health care research under the “non-defense discretionary” budget banner will dip to all-time lows under the Budget Control Act.

Michael Linden

Loopholes in the Estate Tax Show Why Revenue Must Be on the Table Article
Donald Trump poses with his daughter Ivanka at the opening of the Trump SoHo New York in 2010. With the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act, the estate tax is permanently diminished. (AP/Mark Lennihan)

Loopholes in the Estate Tax Show Why Revenue Must Be on the Table

Before Congress sacrifices needed public investments or puts programs that serve middle-class families at risk in the name of deficit reduction, it should ensure that the estate tax is actually paid by the few wealthy estates still subject to it.

Seth Hanlon, Sarah Ayres Steinberg

The Deficit Reduction We Have Achieved So Far Article
 (President Barack Obama)

The Deficit Reduction We Have Achieved So Far

Three-quarters of the $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction already enacted since the start of fiscal year 2011 has been spending cuts.

Michael Linden, Michael Ettlinger

Revenue from the Fiscal Cliff Deal in Context Article
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden make a statement regarding the passage of the fiscal cliff bill in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, January 1, 2013. (AP/Charles Dharapak)

Revenue from the Fiscal Cliff Deal in Context

After a decade of repeated tax cuts, the increase in revenue achieved in the legislation to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff is a step in the right direction, but it won’t be enough.

Michael Linden, Michael Ettlinger

Cliff Diving Article
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) walks to a closed-door GOP caucus as Congress meets to negotiate a legislative path to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff of automatic tax increases and deep spending cuts that could kick in January 1, at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, December 30, 2012. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Cliff Diving

Congressional Republicans’ unwillingness to let the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire is irresponsible and will prove harmful to our economic future.

Michael Ettlinger

Plan B: Job Losses, Middle-Class Tax Increases, and Trivial Deficit Reduction Article
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, October 8, 2013. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Plan B: Job Losses, Middle-Class Tax Increases, and Trivial Deficit Reduction

House Speaker John Boehner’s plan lacks seriousness and is an attempt to divert attention from an unwillingness to adopt a balanced approach that all serious people recognize as a necessity.

Michael Linden, Michael Ettlinger

5 Reasons Faith Communities Care About the Fiscal Showdown Article
Archbishop of New York Timothy M. Dolan, center, rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, October 17, 2011, in New York. A Catholic Charities press statement said Dolan met with

5 Reasons Faith Communities Care About the Fiscal Showdown

The faithful are standing alongside their fellow citizens to remind our elected officials that society’s most vulnerable—the hungry, the elderly, the poor, the sick, and the needy—should be reflected in and protected by our national policies.

Jack Jenkins

Reforming Our Tax System, Reducing Our Deficit Report
In order to secure our fiscal future and achieve meaningful deficit reduction over the next 10 years, we need a plan that combines progressive, revenue-enhancing tax reform with pragmatic spending cuts that do not undermine the middle class, the poor, or seniors. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Reforming Our Tax System, Reducing Our Deficit

In order to secure our fiscal future and achieve meaningful deficit reduction over the next 10 years, we need a plan that combines progressive, revenue-enhancing tax reform with pragmatic spending cuts that do not undermine the middle class, the poor, or seniors.

Roger Altman, William Daley, John Podesta, 8 More Robert Rubin, Leslie Samuels, Lawrence H. Summers, Neera Tanden, Antonio Weiss, Michael Ettlinger, Seth Hanlon, Michael Linden

Video: Where Did the Debt Come From? Video

Video: Where Did the Debt Come From?

Michael Linden, CAP's Director of Tax and Budget Policy, looks at what happened in the 10 years since the Congressional Budget Office projected a massive surplus.

Michael Linden

The Failure of Supply-Side Economics Article
When President Bill Clinton, pictured here addressing the nation in 1993, raised taxes that same year did the economy suffer a slowdown, as was predicted by those who believe in supply-side economics? The data says no. (AP/Greg Gibson)

The Failure of Supply-Side Economics

Michael Ettlinger and Michael Linden give three decades' worth of evidence that proves supply-side economics doesn't work.

Michael Ettlinger, Michael Linden

Video: Once Upon a Trickle Down Video

Video: Once Upon a Trickle Down

The Center for American Progress and cartoonist Mark Fiore explain why a strong middle class is critical for robust economic growth.

The Center for American Progress, Mark Fiore

Where Are Your Tax Dollars Going? Interactive

Where Are Your Tax Dollars Going?

Interactive graph from Michael Linden and Michael Ettlinger gives you an in-depth look at the federal budget.

Michael Linden, Michael Ettlinger

Related Priorities

Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice

Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice

We pursue climate action that meets the crisis’s urgency, creates good-quality jobs, benefits disadvantaged communities, and restores U.S. credibility on the global stage.

Restoring Social Trust in Democracy

Restoring Social Trust in Democracy

Democracy is under attack at home and abroad. We must act to ensure it is accessible to all, accountable, and can serve as a force of good.

Building an Economy for All

Building an Economy for All

Economic growth must be built on the foundation of a strong and secure middle class so that all Americans benefit from growth.

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