Federal Debt and Deficit

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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A Guide to Block Grant Proposals

The Coalition on Human Needs has developed a "Block Grant Chart."

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Deficit Outlook

The 2004 deficit is set to grow to nearly $500 billion, and the 10-year deficit is likely to be nearly $6 trillion, a new OMB Watch analysis shows.

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Half of 2004 Deficit Deterioration Due to Revenue-Reduction

Sep 4, 2003 by Guest Blogger

OMB Watch - Half of 2004 Deficit Deterioration Due to Revenue-Reduction Legislation

Half of 2004 Deficit Deterioration Due to Revenue-Reduction Legislation

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Half of 2004 Deficit Deterioration Due to Revenue-Reduction Legislation

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is currently estimating a baseline $401 billion deficit for 2003 and a $480 billion deficit for 2004. In March, just six months ago, the CBO’s baseline indicated a much smaller $246 billion deficit for 2003 and a $200 billion deficit for 2004.

For 2004, this represents a $279 billion deterioration in the budget outlook (see Table 1). A detailed breakdown of the CBO data shows that 48% of the budget deterioration that occurred between March and August was due to legislative changes affecting revenue (see Table 2). At just over 16 percent of gross domestic product, revenue is now at its lowest level in 40 years. Download full report (.pdf)

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Beyond the Baseline: 10 Year Deficits Likely to Reach $5.9 T

Aug 27, 2003 by Guest Blogger

OMB Watch - Beyond the Baseline: 10 Year Deficits Likely to Reach $5.9 Trillion

Beyond the Baseline: 10 Year Deficits Likely to Reach $5.9 Trillion Published On: 08/26/2003 06:43 PM

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New Budget Articles

Aug 27, 2003 by Guest Blogger

OMB Watch - The Watcher - August 25, 2003 Vol.4 No.17 -

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Beyond the Baseline: 10 Year Deficits Likely to Reach $5.9 Trillion

The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) August 2003 Budget and Economic Update shows a baseline projection of a $401 billion deficit for 2003, and a $480 billion deficit for 2004. The 10-year baseline projections show a $1.4 trillion deficit over the next ten years; however, as the report notes, the baseline is not intended to be a good predictor of actual budgetary outcomes. A better predictor of budget deficits under current policy would put the deficit for 2004 at $496 billion and the 10-year deficit at nearly $6 trillion. Download full report (.pdf)

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Deficit May Reach $500 billion in 2004

Reuters is reporting that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is expected to release deficit projections tomorrow showing deficits reaching approximately $500 billion for fiscal year 2004. In addition, the CBO's report will also contain 10-year budget forecasts, unlike the Administration's official numbers released through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which only have a five-year horizon. These longer-range forecasts are expected to show significant long-run damage to the budget outlook.

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The Bush Tax Cuts are No Worse than the Reagan Tax Cuts?

There seems to be a common misperception that while things are pretty bad, the country survived the Reagan tax cuts, and the Bush tax cuts aren’t that much worse. All that progressives need to do is continue working against any more tax cuts and advocating for adequate appropriations funding, and we'll get through it. This complacency is misplaced and dangerous. The tax cuts, the fiscal condition of the federal government and the states, and the politics are very different. Conservatives have been working on a long-term agenda of shrinking government by reducing revenue. Movement conservative Grover Norquist wants to cut spending on federal programs in half within the next generation; in his words: "kill the taxes and you kill the government."

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2001 Recession In Perspective: Economic and Budget Situation

Aug 22, 2003 by Guest Blogger

OMB Watch - 2001 Recession In Perspective: Economic and Budget Situation

A comparison of the last three recessions shows that even while declines in total output in the 2001 recession were smaller than average, the recovery has been weaker than average. In particular, the employment situation has seen substantial deterioration relative to the start of the recession as well as compared to past recessions.

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