Latest news with #nationaldebt
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Readers on Trump's 'big beautiful bill,' LGBTQ+, homeowners insurance
We are very disappointed in all five Republican members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation who voted "yes" for a federal spendthrift budget bill that adds $3.8 trillion to the national debt while threatening the health and welfare of the poorest Oklahomans. They are not representing the people who elected them by voting to slash funding for Medicaid and the SNAP food stamp programs in favor of tax shelters for the wealthiest Americans. Oklahoma is a poor state. If our tax dollars go to billionaires rather than helping the poorest citizens, the federal government has already indicated states, including Oklahoma, will be asked to contribute more in state taxes to fund safety net programs that we already paid for. These demands will come at a bad time. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the Republican-led Oklahoma Legislature's new bill that will trigger a .25% tax cut beginning in budget year 2026 if revenue exceeds the fiscal year 2023 baseline by $300 million. This cut in available state funds is expected to lower available revenue by $108.2 million, according to Senate staff and the Oklahoma Tax Commission. Oklahomans voted to expand Medicaid to 200,000 Oklahomans through the petition process after state legislators ignored the Affordable Care Act provisions to expand health care for 10 years. This vote tells us that health care is a priority for the people in our state. The spendthrift bill our congressional delegation supported is an obvious transfer of wealth from Oklahoma and America's poor and middle class into the already well-stuffed pockets of the nation's richest 1%. We see it for what it is. ― Jody Harlan & Tim Wagner, Yukon When I was young but old enough to understand the significance of the ceremony, I was baptized into my church and given a leather covered King James Bible with my name embossed in gold. I tried to read it through but after great effort, gave up. It was hard to read through, and I found killings, family abandonment, rapes and even a beheading. I decided to let my parents and my minister pick the passages I should read and live by. Since then, I have been given many Bibles, from the Gideons, the Red Cross in Korea and other churches as I've moved around. It's even free on the internet.I read "The Glass Castle" some time ago, found it excellent and recommended it to my wife and she to our daughter and to her ladies' book club in our church. It was one of the great books the Oklahoma State Department of Education tried to ban. For the life of me I cannot remember an unseemly passage in it. The Bible would be banned if the same people were reading it for the first time.I don't understand the need to put Bibles in our public schools. A child should be guided by his minister and parents as he reads the Bible, not by a busy schoolteacher. Other religions such as (Satanists) would then be able to put their material in our schools. We will get more Sean Sellers who led a (Satanism) club at Putnam City North High School until he was caught murdering three people and executed at age 17. Also, it is against the law. The founders wrote that the government shall separate itself from any religion. Public schools are run and owned by our government. To violate the Constitution and spend $3 million of our tax dollars for expensive Bibles that most every family already has several copies of is foolish and wrong. Ryan Walters must have an ulterior motive.― Dr. David Brinker, Oklahoma City More: Christian nationalism is being forced into OK schools. It's a war on reality. | Opinion How sad to read the vicious comments of Dillon Awes about gay people, Jews and others, cloaked of course, in religion. As I have grown old, I have watched the 'Family Values' shouters: Billy James Hargis, Jimmy Swaggart, Ralph Shorty, Paul Pressler, Jared Woodfill (I could fill the page). Look up these 'family values' stalwarts. When I attended OBU and Moody Bible Institute before volunteering for Vietnam, the Jesus I studied wouldn't have run with Dillon Awes. Jesus came to rail against the chest beaters, the pious hypocrites that prayed loudly so that others might see them, those who used religion to be cruel, to control, to hurt others. Jesus came to remind us that the sins of the flesh are not nearly as egregious as the way we treat our fellow human beings. Jesus lived and died saying that, 'I accept responsibility for humankind's failings and my love, God's love, extends to everyone.' His entire message was to ask us to treat others with love, compassion and understanding. I cannot tell you that my two tours in Vietnam with the 4th Infantry Division, K Company 75th Airborne Rangers accomplished anything good, but I can tell you that the men I served with, 100% volunteers, believed they were fighting and dying so that ALL Americans might have equal rights, equal opportunities. ALL AMERICANS, not just those that Dillon Awes thinks have a right to live. I teared up as I wrote this. What have we become? ― Jack Werner, Oklahoma City Oklahoma City church leader Dillon Awes' position that LGBTQ+ people should be executed is profoundly ignorant of longstanding recognition by relevant national associations. Sexual orientation and gender identity have for some 40 years been deemed normal human characteristics ― neither sickness nor sin ― by the American Psychiatric Association, Psychological Association, Medical Association, and National Association of Social Workers. Awes' judgments, his obsolete, incorrect and detestable stereotypical beliefs about LGBTQ+ people are unworthy of any otherwise normally functioning person who can read and write. ― Nathaniel Batchelder, Oklahoma City More: Is hail really to blame for Oklahoma's high insurance rates? Why weather experts say no Lately, there's been growing concern — and even criticism — about rising homeowners' insurance rates in Oklahoma. I understand the frustration. Some have asked whether the Oklahoma Insurance Department, and I personally, are doing enough. So let me set the record straight. First, let me tell you what the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) does regarding rates. Contrary to what some believe, we don't set them. We don't approve them. Oklahoma, like 37 other states, uses a 'file-and-use' or 'use-and-file' system. Our job is to ensure that those filings are lawful, non-discriminatory and transparent. We monitor the market closely, enforce consumer protections and act when companies break the law. Now I want to talk about why rates are high, because they affect all of us. It's not only because of hail! Oklahoma is one of the most disaster-prone states in the country. We face tornadoes, hail, wind, wildfires and floods — many times, all in the same year. These natural disasters have caused significant damage and massive payouts by insurance companies. In 2023, insurers in Oklahoma paid out $129 in claims for every $100 they collected in premiums. That kind of imbalance simply isn't sustainable. Even after some improvement in 2024, payouts are still at $97 per $100 in premiums. When companies consistently lose money, they raise rates — some even stop writing new policies and leave the state. Luckily, we are not seeing an exodus of companies. Oklahoma consumers have choices because of the way our state works. Over 100 licensed companies write homeowners insurance in Oklahoma, and more than 50 are actively doing so. Competition in the market helps keep prices in check. OID is also pushing forward and working on long-term solutions. One example is the Strengthen Oklahoma Homes grant program, which helps homeowners fortify their homes against severe weather. Stronger homes mean fewer claims and lower premiums. I do hear your concerns, and I share them. Nobody wants to see costs go up. But I want you to know this: Our team is fighting every day to ensure Oklahoma's insurance market remains fair, competitive and focused on protecting you. That's our mission. That's our commitment. — Glen Mulready, Oklahoma insurance commissioner This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OK insurance commissioner speaks up about homeowners' rates | Letters
Washington Post
11 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Wall Street warns Trump aides the GOP tax bill could jolt bond markets
Wall Street bankers and executives are privately warning the Trump administration that the tax bill moving through Congress could stoke investor anxiety about rising deficits, push up U.S. borrowing costs and damage the broader economy, according to more than a dozen people familiar with the matter. House Republicans this month approved a measure projected to add $2.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, primarily by extending tax cuts from 2017 — and it would add more than $5 trillion in debt including interest costs and likely future extensions, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. That legislation, which would also beef up immigration enforcement and defense spending, is President Donald Trump's top legislative priority. The Senate is due to take it up soon.
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
Trump says Elon Musk 'not really leaving' in Oval Office farewell
Elon Musk's time in the Trump administration has come to an end with a news conference in the Oval Office in which he and the US president defended the work of Doge - and vowed it would continue, even without Musk. According to President Trump, Musk is "not really leaving" and will continue to be "back and forth" to the White House. "It's his baby," Trump said of Musk's work with Doge, short for the cost-cutting Department of Government departure comes 130 days after Trump returned to office, the maximum allowable through his status as a "special government employee". Doge - which is an advisory body, rather than a formal government department - has the stated aim of slashing government spending, saving taxpayer money and reducing the US national debt, which stands at $36tn (£28.9tn).Musk's work with Doge, however, has come with considerable controversy, particularly after mass lay-offs across federal agencies and the elimination of most programmes run by USAID, the main US foreign aid organisation. It also led to Musk's companies coming under scrutiny, with global protests against Tesla and calls for boycotts. In turn, the company saw sales plummet to their lowest level in years. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump praised Musk, who he credited with "tirelessly helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform programme in generations". It's Musk's last day - what has he achieved at the White House?Trump added that the "mindsets" of federal officials have changed as a result of Doge's work to detect fraud and "slash waste". According to Doge's website, it had saved the US government a total of $175bn as of 29 May. A BBC analysis conducted in late April, however, found that only $61.5bn of that amount was itemised, and evidence of how the savings were achieved was available about $32.5bn of the total. "He's not really leaving," Trump said of Musk. "He's going to be back and forth...I think he's going to be doing a lot of things."Musk, for his part, insisted that Doge will continue to "relentlessly" seek $1 trillion in reductions. The meeting between the two men comes just days after an interview with CBS - the BBC's US partner - in which Musk said he was "disappointed" in what Trump has referred to as his "big, beautiful" bill, which includes multi-trillion dollar tax breaks and a pledge to increase defence spending. While Musk had previously said he believes that the bill "undermines" the work of Doge, he did not comment on it during the Oval Office meeting. Trump, though, delivered a lengthy defence of the "unbelievable" legislation that "does amazing things". "But there are two things I'd like to see," Trump said. "Maybe cut a little bit more. I'd like to see a bigger cut in taxes." The news conference also took several turns, including questions on why Musk appeared to have a bruised eye. "I wasn't anywhere near France," Musk replied, a reference to a recent incident between French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigette. Musk said his injury by saying he had told his son, X Æ A-12 - known as X - to punch him. "Turns out even a five-year-old-punching you in the fact actually does - that was X," he Musk was asked about a New York Times report this week that suggested he was using drugs heavily during Trump's 2024 campaign. He responded by citing a recent judge's decision that Trump can proceed with a defamation case against the Washington Post and New York Times for their reporting on alleged connections between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia."That New York Times?" Musk asked. "Let's move on."
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Reconciliation: How A Deficit Control Tool Adds Fuel To The Debt Fire
Much like the broader U.S. budget process, a legislative procedure currently being used to advance Republican policy priorities such as tax cuts and increased spending on border security has evolved to a point where it no longer serves its intended purpose. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, now before Congress, is being considered using a budgetary tool known as reconciliation, which was designed to expedite passage of deficit-reducing measures. While the 1974 law establishing the procedure did not strictly limit the use of reconciliation to deficit reduction, the overarching goal of that legislation was to equip Congress with stronger tools to adopt responsible budgets. Unfortunately, the present application of reconciliation is threatening to do just the opposite, increasing the national debt by trillions over the next decade. The term 'reconciliation' refers to a unique component of the congressional budget process. While often contentious, current budgetary procedures once found success because elected officials were committed to adhering to statutory budget rules and possessed the political will to elevate governance and the country's fiscal well-being above other considerations. The budgetary surpluses achieved between 1998 and 2001 were, at least in part, a product of that more disciplined approach. Federal budgeting is designed to begin with the president submitting a funding request to Congress, followed in short order by the development of an intra-legislative branch budget resolution. Though lacking the force of law, this resolution serves as a fiscal blueprint guiding broad spending, revenue, and debt levels for the upcoming year. While not required, the resolution can include reconciliation instructions directing action from congressional committees responsible for mandatory programs and revenues. (Annual appropriations matters are typically considered separately.) Those committees are typically tasked with developing proposals to generate program savings or higher revenues for activities under their purview. Essentially, they are instructed to craft legislation that, if enacted, would reconcile spending and revenue levels with the budget resolution's targets. Once such legislative language is developed, a reconciliation bill is introduced and makes its way through the legislative process. Reconciliation measures benefit from expedited consideration, requiring a simple majority for passage, unlike the regular process which demands 60 votes to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. Reconciliation Process Congressional Research Service Given the relative ease of passing legislation through reconciliation, it has evolved to become an end-run around regular legislative order. Concern about how the procedures might be used dates back to the adoption of the Byrd Rule in 1985. That rule restricted the inclusion of 'extraneous' provisions—those lacking significant fiscal impact—in reconciliation bills. From its inception in 1974 until the end of the 20th century, reconciliation had been used to reduce deficits. While policy objectives such as welfare reform were accomplished using reconciliation, such legislation was expected to result in fiscal savings. That changed in the 21st century when reconciliation began to be used to expedite the passage of legislation that, while having fiscal impacts, would increase deficits. Prime examples include the tax cuts enacted through reconciliation in 2001 (though the intent then was to reduce forecast surpluses rather than increase deficits), 2003, and 2017, as well as the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. The Inflation Reduction Act, enacted in 2022, was initially thought to be a deficit-reducing measure, though a growing body of research on the topic suggests the IRA could add to the deficit or at least generate smaller amounts of deficit reduction than expected. The evolution of reconciliation, from facilitating deficit reduction to making it easier to add to the national debt, has not followed a straight line. Congress has at times over the past 20 years tightened rules by prohibiting its use for measures that raise deficits and disallowing instructions that would increase net mandatory spending. For instance, the Conrad Rule, in effect from 2007 to 2015, sought to rein in the practice of worsening deficits through reconciliation and instead returned the procedure to its original purpose, deficit reduction. The abandonment of past constraints like the Conrad Rule has created a loophole, enabling legislators to use reconciliation to enact policies that could harm the nation's fiscal outlook, simply by demonstrating fiscal impact. Another indicator of how poorly the current budget process is faring at present is the fact that Congress is pursuing reconciliation legislation for the fiscal year that ends in four months. Reconciliation was designed to be completed before the fiscal year begins. Longer-term fiscal policies, however, are affected by the legislation making its consideration relevant for years beyond FY 2025. A key driver of the bill is a desire by some elected officials to extend certain tax reductions passed via reconciliation during the first Trump presidency, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The Byrd Rule affected the content of TCJA because it does not allow reconciliation legislation to increase the deficit beyond a 10-year budget window. To comply with that requirement, key parts of the tax cut package are slated to expire at the end of 2025. Add to that a number oBudget f new Trump administration priorities, like additional tax cuts and more spending for border security and the military, coupled with an increasingly compelling need to extend the nation's debt limit, and one big bill results. Whether it's beautiful is in the eye of the beholder. Despite the built-in advantages of using reconciliation, some policymakers are also advocating a shift to a current policy baseline to assess the cost of the legislation. Arnold Ventures has made clear in several recent publications that such an approach hides the true fiscal impact on taxpayers and further undermines the U.S. fiscal position. In a previous post on I wrote about how the U.S. budget process is broken and requires considerable reform to put the nation on a sustainable fiscal path. Contrary to the intent of existing budgeting statutes like the law establishing reconciliation procedures, the legislative package now moving through Congress will cause the national debt to soar. And it will do so by leveraging a process designed to do just the opposite. Clearly, we need to rethink our broken budget process—manipulating reconciliation is hardly the only issue. Otherwise, we must reconcile ourselves to an ever-expanding national debt and the substantial risks accompanying that unstable fiscal state.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Price tag estimate for House GOP tax package rises to $3.94T
Print Close By Alex Nitzberg Published May 29, 2025 The estimated revenue impact of the GOP tax plan would be nearly $4 trillion in the negative over a decade, the Joint Committee on Taxation — a nonpartisan committee of the U.S. Congress — has indicated. A document issued by the committee puts the net total estimated revenue effects at -$3.939368 trillion for fiscal years 2025-2034. "The problem with all of these studies is they willfully ignore current tax policy. You can't do that and be taken seriously," an Office of Management and Budget spokesperson indicated. Fox News Digital reached out to the Joint Committee on Taxation for comment, but no comment had been provided by the time of publication. GOP RAILS AGAINST 'BLATANTLY FALSE' DEM CLAIMS ABOUT MEDICAID REFORM IN TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' The GOP-controlled House of Representatives passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last week, even with the U.S. national debt at more than $36 trillion. The measure cleared the chamber with zero Democrat votes, and two House Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio — voting against it. House Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., voted present, explaining in a statement, "I voted to move the bill along in the process for the President. There is still a lot of work to be done in deficit reduction and ending waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid program." SPEAKER JOHNSON CLASHES WITH RAND PAUL OVER 'WIMPY' SPENDING CUTS IN TRUMP'S BILL Some Senate Republicans have indicated that they would not be willing to support the measure as it stands coming out of the House. Elon Musk is not happy with it either. The business tycoon said during an interview for "CBS Sunday Morning" that he was "disappointed to see the massive spending bill," and that the measure undermines the Department of Government Efficiency team's work. "I'm not happy about certain aspects of it, but I'm thrilled by other aspects of it," President Donald Trump said of the measure when asked about Musk's comments. Last week, Trump hailed the House's passage of the proposal, calling for the Senate to pass it as well. "Great job by Speaker Mike Johnson, and the House Leadership, and thank you to every Republican who voted YES on this Historic Bill! Now, it's time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!" the president declared in part of a Truth Social post last week. MUSK OFFICIALLY STEPS DOWN FROM DOGE AFTER WRAPPING WORK STREAMLINING GOVERNMENT CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller asserted in a post on X, "I see some self-described libertarians siding with lefty bureaucrats at CBO who claim the Big Beautiful Bill will 'explode the debt.' This is based entirely on CBO claiming that extending the current tax rates (not raising them) will 'cost' the government $4 trillion in revenue. "Since when have libertarians argued that NOT raising taxes 'costs' the government money? Private money yet to be earned does not "belong" to the government. This is a Democrat-collectivist argument and I'm shocked to see libertarians deploying it. Under this ludicrous theory, one could raise taxes to 90% on everyone and declare the deficit solved. BBB cuts taxes, cuts spending, reforms welfare and *ends mass migration*," he declared. Print Close URL
