California’s largest, most important — and perhaps most troubled — governmental program is the education of nearly 6 million elementary, middle and high school students. Federal, state and local taxpayers are spending more than $100 billion each year on the assumption, or hope, that the state’s 944 school districts, ranging...
US Budget Deficit Running 11.8% Higher This Year
The U.S. budget deficit through the first three months of this budget year is up 11.8% from the same period a year ago, putting the country on track to record its first $1 trillion deficit in eight years. In its monthly budget report, the Treasury Department said Monday that the...
Walters: Winnowing Legislative Grain From Chaff
During the pre-industrial era, crops of wheat were planted, cultivated, harvested and processed by hand. The latter included “winnowing,” typically by using a shallow basket to toss the crushed kernels of wheat into the air, allowing the wind to separate edible grain from the lighter and disposable chaff. The term...
US Consumer Confidence Ticked Down in December
BALTIMORE — U.S. consumer confidence slipped ever so slightly in December, as expectations fell about economic growth over the next six months. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index edged down to 126.5 from November's reading of 126.8. Americans felt largely confident about business conditions this month...
House Sets Vote on $1.4 Trillion Federal Spending Bill
WASHINGTON — The Democratic-controlled House is voting Tuesday on a $1.4 trillion government-wide spending package with an unusually large load of unrelated provisions on the must-do legislation. The package, some 2,313 pages long, was unveiled Monday as lawmakers prepared to wrap up reams of unfinished work against a backdrop of...
US Economy Grew at a Moderate 2.1% Annual Rate Last Quarter
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at a moderate 2.1% annual rate over the summer, slightly faster than first estimated, the government said Wednesday. But many economists say they think growth is slowing sharply in the current quarter. The July-September growth rate in the gross domestic product, the economy’s total...
US Budget Deficit Surges to $134.5 Billion in October
WASHINGTON — The federal government, which ended the 2019 budget year with its largest deficit in seven years, began the new budget year with a deficit in October that was 33.8% bigger than a year ago as spending hit a record. The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the deficit last...
US Budget Deficit Hits $984 Billion, Highest in 7 Years
WASHINGTON — The federal deficit for the 2019 budget year surged to $984.4 billion, its highest point in seven years, and is widely expected to top the $1 trillion mark in coming years. The 26% surge from the 2018 deficit of $779 billion that the government reported Friday reflected such...
Opinion: On Oct. 3, Happy Deficit Day
Imagine that the federal government received all the revenue it will receive for the year in a lump sum on Jan. 1, and then proceeded to spend that money at a constant rate. If the federal government’s budget were balanced, the money would last until the stroke of midnight on...
US Economy Slowed to 2.1% Growth in Second Quarter
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy slowed sharply in the April-June quarter even as consumers stepped up their spending. The gross domestic product, the economy's total output of goods and services, grew at a 2.1% annual rate last quarter, down from a 3.1% gain in the first quarter, the Commerce Department...