If the House of Representatives follows the Senate’s lead and passes the Inflation Reduction Act, it would become the first major piece of legislation to have even a small positive impact on the federal budget deficit since President Barack Obama was in office. But don’t go popping those champagne corks just yet, deficit hawks. The […]
A technical dispute over how to account for spending on veterans’ healthcare in an otherwise popular bipartisan bill has blown up into a high-profile, politicized controversy thanks to the unhelpful intervention of Jon Stewart. The comedian has gone on the warpath against Senate Republicans, in particular Sens. Ted Cruz (R–Texas) and Pat Toomey (R–Pa.), for […]
The Federal Student Loan Program is often criticized as a source of revenue for the federal government. But a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) shows that the present situation can’t be further from the truth. When the Federal Direct Student Loan Program began in 1994, the Department of Education estimated that it would generate […]
Industrial policy is making a comeback. For those of you under the age of 50, this is just another term for corporate welfare—a lovely name for the unlovely practice of a government granting subsidies, protective tariffs, and other privileges to politically influential industries or companies. It’s often done in the name of some lofty goal […]
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.) has reportedly brokered a deal with Sen. Joe Manchin (D–W.Va.) to pass a slimmed-down version of President Joe Biden’s spending plan—now to be marketed as an attempt to curb inflation. In a statement on Wednesday evening, Manchin announced The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a bill that the swing-vote […]
