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Here's Why Spending Fights Are Getting More Frequent Feb. 09, 2023
People are uneasy about the debt ceiling fight. Many think it's unhealthy and a sign of poor fiscal ... Read More
Why Would Republicans Rule Out Social Security and Medicare Reform? Jan. 26, 2023
If you follow policy debates long enough, arguments you never thought you'd hear can become key comp... Read More
Republicans Must Avoid Repeating History with the Budget Jan. 19, 2023
The long and tedious battle for House speaker ended with the GOP arguably more focused on fiscal res... Read More
Seniors Paid Into Social Security and Medicare. Hands Off Them, GOP Aug. 16, 2022
For the second time this year, a key Senate Republican has suggested that Social Security and Medica... Read More
Turning 66 in 2019? Consider Filing for Benefits This Month Jan. 02, 2019
I write a column similar to this one every January. But I don't mind plagiarizing myself, as the col... Read More
Government Spending in Layman's Terms May. 02, 2018
Dear Mr. Berko: My wife and I have two questions. Could you please tell us the difference between en... Read More
Paul Ryan -- Still an Entitlements Reform Crusader? Apr. 13, 2018
Concerning Paul Ryan's decision to leave Congress, I am more troubled by its implications for entitl... Read More
Making the Federal Government Lean Again Feb. 08, 2018
We are not in a full-scale war. We are not in a recession or fighting a high unemployment rate. But ... Read More
How Federal Policies Mortgage the Future Feb. 04, 2018
Twenty or 50 years from now, the uproar over the House Intelligence Committee memo will be no more t... Read More
Toward a Trump Republicanism Feb. 02, 2018
Donald Trump's surprisingly good State of the Union speech got a record 70 to 75 percent positive ap... Read More
Trillion-Dollar Deficit Deja Vu Jan. 04, 2018
After failing to pass any significant legislation during most of President Donald Trump's first year... Read More
I Hate The New York Times Dec. 06, 2017
My hometown paper drives me crazy. I read The New York Times because it often has good coverage. Th... Read More
Here He Comes to Save the Day! Mighty Mnuchin Is on His Way Aug. 31, 2017
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin claims he has been using his "superpowers" to keep the federal gov... Read More
Oops, Republicans Did It Again Aug. 03, 2017
Despite a mountain of historical evidence that the Republican Party doesn't seriously stand for smal... Read More
Pros and Cons of Trump's Budget and Cons of Dem Demagoguery May. 26, 2017
Demagoguery and propaganda are enemies of good governance, but nowhere is that more apparent than in... Read More
Trump's Budget: A Slow Boat to Ruin May. 25, 2017
Donald Trump's first budget proposal is a brazen mix of ideology and dishonesty, seasoned with irres... Read More
Trump's Budget to Preserve the Swamp? May. 25, 2017
President Donald Trump's first budget proposal is finally out, and it boldly promises to deliver a "... Read More
The Demotic Politics of Theresa May -- and Donald Trump May. 19, 2017
DURHAM, England — When I first visited England to cover a British election 20 years ago this m... Read More
Is the Sky the Limit for the Debt Ceiling? Apr. 06, 2017
When the national debt ceiling's suspension was automatically lifted March 15, yet another countdown... Read More
The Coming Fiscal Binge Mar. 30, 2017
William Safire said that as a speechwriter for Richard Nixon, he would sometimes urge the president,... Read More
