FISCAL BLOG

Here are eleven charts that tell America’s fiscal story for 2019 — and show how our outlook went from bad to worse over the last 12 months.

The United States leads the world in an unfortunate category: the pace of growth in its debt.

The rising cost of prescription drugs is a key driver of overall healthcare spending in the U.S. This trend has significant implications not only for Americans who rely on medications, but also for our nation’s budget and fiscal outlook.

At a hearing on the U.S. Economic Outlook for the Joint Economic Committee on November 13, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell expressed concern about America’s fiscal outlook and how it may affect our economic future.

As more time passes since enactment, and as more data become available, economists continue to weigh in with analyses of the TCJA’s effects.

In its annual report on income and poverty, the U.S. Census Bureau publishes data on national economic measures such as household income, earnings, wealth, employment, and poverty.

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve announced a decrease in the federal funds rate — the interest rate at which commercial banks lend to each other overnight.

Growth earlier in the year was spurred by appropriations enacted in early 2018 as well as by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), though the stimulus effects of the latter are fading.

It may be counterintuitive, but government shutdowns are expensive. They are also bad for the economy.

The United States currently faces a range of complex challenges including deteriorating infrastructure, a changing climate, and an inadequate system of education.