There is no shortage of prodigal people in the world. They chain themselves to expensive habits or addictions, pursue short-term pleasures and conveniences, are wasteful with other people’s money, and increase their spending when their incomes decline. Their sins are…

You have to feel a bit sorry for Bernie Sanders. The Vermont senator came within seven points of capturing the Democratic nomination in 2016. He’s spent the intervening three years working on his brand and building toward his 2020 run,…

The Trump administration just delivered a massive budget to Congress. A look at the numbers and the talking points drafted to defend it confirms that budgets favor politics over policy. This also confirms that it really doesn’t really matter who…

U.S. Treasury reports show that the amount the U.S. government finances to pay for its spending will top $1 trillion in 2019 for the second straight year. The Treasury issued debt of $1.34 trillion in 2018, a number that should…

A fiscal watchdog examined the state of finances in the three largest cities in the United States and the results aren’t pretty. Chicago-based Truth in Accounting (TIA) released the results of studies of its home city, as well as New…

In its research into the debt woes of states, Truth in Accounting (TIA) has uncovered an interesting nugget: the older a state, the more likely it has financial problems. Bill Bergman, TIA’s director of research and a former market analyst…

China can’t get out of its own way. At a Foreign Affairs Congressional Hearing last Wednesday, a panel of congressman and economists agreed that action needs to be taken against China’s “predatory trade practices.” What that looks like, however, is up…

Editor’s Note: This piece is an ongoing investigative series in partnership with Watchdog.org’s state-level journalists. Pension budget woes beset nearly every state in the union and cities and municipalities are also being hit with unprecedented pension debt. Baby boomers are retiring….

Editor’s Note: This piece is an ongoing investigative series in partnership with Watchdog.org’s state-level journalists. Pension budget woes beset nearly every state in the union and cities and municipalities are also being hit with unprecedented pension debt. Baby boomers are retiring….

Editor’s Note: This piece is an ongoing investigative series in partnership with Watchdog.org’s state-level journalists. Pension budget woes beset nearly every state in the union and cities and municipalities are also being hit with unprecedented pension debt. Baby boomers are retiring….