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What's behind the national debt?

Jun 17, 2020
We look into how the government borrows money and what it means in the long run.
Then-Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in 2016. The national debt has since passed $26 trillion.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

What can the Federal Reserve do to help the economy?

May 20, 2020
The central bank is already buying bonds to keep money flowing, but it has a few more tools in its kit.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before Congress in 2018. Powell has been urging Congress to provide more fiscal support during the pandemic.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

OECD: Growth downgraded, fiscal policy needed

Sep 19, 2019
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development echoes central bankers, saying monetary policy alone can't spur global growth.
Laurence Boone, chief economist of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, presents the OECD interim economic outlook in Paris in 2018.
Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images

Fed Chair Jay Powell: We’re “independent of political considerations”

Jul 12, 2018
In a 30 minute conversation, Chairman Powell discusses tariffs, political pressure on the Fed and wage stagnation.
Jerome Powell listens as President Trump announces Powell as nominee for Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, November 2, 2017.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Why economists and politicians don't seem to speak the same language

Mar 27, 2018
If we want better policies, then politicians need to start thinking more like economists — and vice versa.
President Donald Trump signs Section 232 Proclamations on Steel and Aluminum Imports in the Oval Office of the White House on March 8, 2018, in Washington, D.C. 
MANDEL NGAN / Getty Images

Clinton economic policies rely on tax changes

Aug 11, 2016
In a speech near Detroit, Clinton said the rich and corporations should pay more.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton plans to tax corporations that move jobs outside of the country to pay for her initiatives.
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Imagining a Paul Ryan speakership

Oct 22, 2015
What economic policies would Ryan and his world view bring to the position?

For public good, not for profit.

House changes how bills are evaluated

Jan 8, 2015
"Dynamic scoring" of bills sounds boring, but it’s actually a big deal.

How to avoid the 'fiscal cliff'

May 30, 2012
Commentator Robert Reich says lawmakers need to apply the brakes on automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to go into effect at the end of the year or the U.S. may face a new recession.