budget

Budget Wars Extended Another Year; GOP Seeks To ‘Soften Blow’ For Defense

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Rather than toasting to the end of the federal financial wars as Congress heads into the Thanksgiving break, everyone might as well just relax and enjoy some time off from considering the implications of budget cuts as the next critical deadline in the ongoing saga now lies a year away.

Still, it appears the saga will probably heat up again as soon as next week. Now that the the so-called “super committee” has officially failed, Republicans are talking about rewriting the rules for across-the-board cuts to soften the blow for Defense, according to Government Executive. Obama has suggested he could veto such attempts. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 23, 2011 at 1:30 PM

Help Wanted: President Obama’s Job Plans Faces A Reluctant Congress

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President Obama raises the curtain Thursday night on a $400 billion plan to jump start the nation’s economy. It’s called the American Job Act. But will it work?

It would pour thousands of jobs into the marketplace and bring down the 9.1 percent unemployment rate, for sure. But there is one big bump in the road: It has to be approved by Congress. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 8, 2011 at 4:31 PM

IT Innovation Can Help State And Local Governments Cut Costs

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A leading voice in the world of technology says state and local governments must drive innovative as well as cost-effective programs in order to survive the current fiscal climate.

In light of budget constraints across the country, TechAmerica’s State and Local Government (SLG) Board of Directors has released new policy recommendations on how to employ IT to make improvements to major programs and support operations under challenging fiscal conditions. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 26, 2011 at 9:00 AM

Public Debt: Congressional Charts Plot Need For Action

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As everyone in the federal government–and most citizens–know, the government has been recording the largest budget deficits, as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), since the end of World War II. As a result of those deficits, the amount of federal debt held by the public has soared-surpassing $9 trillion at the end of fiscal year 2010 to a level equal to 62% of GDP.

The interest the government pays on that debt is currently low by historical standards as a percentage of GDP but it is expected to grow rapidly over the next several years as interest rates rise. (A summary of key facts about the Federal debt are available on my Wiki site.) Keep reading →

 /  Published July 23, 2011 at 9:02 AM

‘Federal Spending’ Online Analysis Program Debuts: Episode 1 Examines TARP

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A new program called Federal Spending made its debut on Thursday, July 16. Produced by Inside Analysis in conjunction with Breaking Gov, this apolitical show has a formidable aim: tracking the path of federal dollars. The inaugural episode offered valuable insight into the expenditures of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) and a newly-mandated federal regulatory agency.

Before any current spending trends were discussed, Robin Bloor, Founder and CEO of The Bloor Group, presented a brief overview of federal spending in relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “You would think that just by leveraging taxes upon the GDP that the government would have a lot more money to spend,” said Bloor. The discrepancy between expenditures and income, however, explains why the US debt is over 100% of the GDP. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 21, 2011 at 6:05 PM
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