Topic: Federal Deficits
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Five ways to improve Obama's pre-k plan
President Obama’s Preschool for All plan is well intentioned but includes features that are not justified by research and won’t help it pass in Congress. The plan must make the following five adjustments.
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5 steps to bipartisan cuts in Medicare – and the deficit
Medicare is the single greatest contributor to long-term deficits. If Democrats and Republicans cooperate on waste-cutting ideas – many of which are backed by President Obama – both parties stand to gain. Here are five ways Congress should act.
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Briefing
After the 'sequester,' now what?
$85 billion in across-the-board cuts to defense and social programs took effect March 1. The cuts must occur this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Here's how things look.
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Four reasons Republicans are embracing the 'sequester'
Republicans, it is clear, are conflicted on the "sequester." How did they come to embrace it? Here are four reasons.
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If not 'sequester,' then what? Five ideas from left and right.
Few in Washington believe that "the sequester,” $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to hit the federal budget as of March 1, is a good idea. But what's the alternative? Here are five proposals, from the right, the center, and the left, to replace the sequester. Which do you like?
All Content
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The New Economy Facebook IPO: a bittersweet one-year anniversary
One year after the disastrous Facebook IPO, the company is making strides in mobile ad revenue, but its stock price is still far below its original IPO price. Also this week: Consumer sentiment hits six-year high; retail sales rise unexpectedly; and the world has a new (old) richest person.
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Sea of protesters fills streets in Rome
Thousands took to the streets on Saturday to protest austerity measures and advocate for job creation and workers' rights in Italy. The country is experiencing its longest recession since 1970, with unemployment rates soaring.
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Energy Voices Ernest Moniz confirmed unanimously as Energy secretary
Ernest Moniz earned bipartisan approval Thursday as the Senate voted 97-0 to confirm the nuclear physicist as the next secretary of the Department of Energy. The support for Ernest Moniz is in contrast to divided opinions over Gina McCarthy, President Obama's pick to head the EPA.
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The sound of abundance
A Christian Science perspective.
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Federal deficit falling fast: Is that a good thing ... or a bad thing?
New estimates show the US federal budget deficit falling faster than forecast. To some, that's a sign that fiscal policy is becoming too austere, valuing quick cuts over more-needed reforms.
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Why federal budget deficit is falling faster than CBO expected
The federal budget deficit will shrink this year to $642 billion, the nonpartisan CBO said in a new estimate Tuesday. Just three months ago, it was forecasting a deficit of $845 billion.
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Five ways to improve Obama's pre-k plan
President Obama’s Preschool for All plan is well intentioned but includes features that are not justified by research and won’t help it pass in Congress. The plan must make the following five adjustments.
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What tax hikes? Retail sales rise in April despite fears of slowdown.
Retail sales numbers for March had been down compared with last year, in part because of a rise in Social Security payroll taxes. But April's numbers rebounded unexpectedly.
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Robert Reich How Republicans quietly repeal laws they don't like
Repealing laws by hollowing them out – failing to fund their enforcement or implementation – works because the public doesn’t know it’s happening, Reich writes. Enactment of a law attracts attention; de-funding it doesn’t.
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Portugal adds an hour to public employees workday as part of budget cuts
In order to meet its bailout targets, Portugal will raise the retirement age by one year to 66 and increase the workday for public employees by an extra hour. The measures will save roughly 4.8 billion euros.
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$900,000 per inmate: World's most expensive prison (+video)
$900,000 per inmate makes Guantanamo Bay the world's most expensive prison. That's 13 times the cost of a super max inmate. Is $900,000 per inmate worth it to US taxpayers?
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Why no sign of 'sequester' cuts in perky April jobs report?
Economic doom and gloom were supposed to follow the 'sequester' cuts in federal spending, but there's no evidence in the April jobs report that the labor market has been hurt. Just wait, warn some economists.
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USA Update Top general: 5 bad habits for the Pentagon to fix (+video)
The Pentagon has not had to do any serious belt-tightening for years, and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the nation's top military officer, says some budget discipline could be beneficial.
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Pentagon budget woes: furlough civilians, buy tanks you don't want
Once again, the Pentagon wants to scrap a weapon – in this case, the Abrams tank – that Congress has an interest in preserving. But with 'sequester' cuts, the tradeoff will be civilian furloughs.
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Lawmakers cancel FAA furloughs, flee Washington – by air
Air travelers breathed a sigh of relief after Congress passed quick legislation allowing the FAA to cancel furloughs for air traffic controllers. But that's just increased partisan sniping over the sequester and its across-the-board budget cuts.
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The New Economy Economy picks up, but still disappoints (+video)
GDP expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter. Economists expect slowdown in GDP growth this summer as sequester takes hold, which already delayed air traffic briefly.
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Before members rush for airports, Congress ends sequester flight delays
Once again, the prospect of missing flights home helped Congress resolve a standoff, this time over sequester cuts that had furloughed air traffic controllers and caused flight delays this week.
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Online sales tax bill hits a potential firewall
A bill aimed at collecting sales tax for online goods has cleared the Senate. However, the House will prove to be a problem as many see the bill as a tax increase – something many Republicans pledged they would not do.
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Madrid ups taxes, punts on pension reform. Will Europe be satisfied?
The Spanish government hopes that its measures will be enough to convince Europe to okay a two-year extension on its deficit-reduction goals.
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Energy Voices Would a carbon tax boost clean energy?
The carbon tax can be a useful tool for nudging near-competitive low-carbon technologies into the market and spurring modest carbon cuts, Stepp writes, but it’s at best a complementary climate policy. That changes if we use a carbon tax as a revenue-raiser to support additional policies aimed at making clean energy cost and performance competitive with fossil fuels.
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The New Economy GDP up 2.5 percent: Smaller-than-expected bounce for US economy
GDP flashed 2.5 percent growth in the first quarter: much better than the fourth quarter but below expectations. Economists expect another slowdown in GDP growth for the summer.
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USA Update Flight delays coming to an end? House votes next on FAA furloughs.
The Senate voted Thursday to let the FAA repurpose money so it can halt furloughs of 15,000 air traffic controllers and end flight delays, tweaking rules of the 'sequester.' The House votes on the bill Friday.
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Irked by airport delays, Senators ease FAA furloughs
The Senate re-appropriated money Thursday to reopen closed air traffic control towers and rehire furloughed air traffic controllers. Many members of Congress had already flown home to their districts, thus experiencing the delays affecting many air travelers.
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John McCain: focus on flight delays shows 'upside down' sequester concerns
Sen. John McCain, speaking at a Monitor breakfast Thursday, said it is 'criminal and scandalous' that Congress is ignoring the effect of the 'sequester' on national defense.
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Flight delayed? Republicans blame FAA, and FAA blames 'sequester.' (+video)
Testifying on Capitol Hill Wednesday, the FAA administrator said furloughs of air-traffic controllers – and hence flight delays – are unavoidable under the 'sequester.' House Republicans challenged his assessment.
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