Washington state cut both merit raises and instituted furloughs as it faced a projected $8.8 billion budget deficit because of the coronavirus.
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State and local government jobs are being axed, public schools won’t get money the state planned to send them, and fire and police departments budgets are being slashed. All because of the pandemic.
Canada’s federal deficit has skyrocketed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. How will Ottawa pay back the money its borrowed?
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Canada’s federal deficit has ballooned as Ottawa spends billions in response to the coronavirus pandemic. An economist explains why the massive spending will not harm Canadians in the future.
Rishi Sunak, the UK chancellor, has already said he is “deeply troubled” by the OBR projections.
EPA
Why most debt and deficit projections are still way too upbeat.
The time has come to accept that energy corridors and fossil fuel exports will be a declining feature of Canada’s economic future.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
In the aftermath of the election, what is striking about many of the policy positions of Canada’s federal parties is their timidity, especially when it comes to climate change.
Pork-barrel spending – that often reviled custom otherwise known as ‘earmarks’ – may well help Congress pass bills on schedule. Banned since 2011, they may be making a comeback.
The government is proposing to save A$2.2 billion on education over the next four years, which will hit students the hardest.
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The cuts to higher education funding are more about making savings than improving higher education, and would be extremely hard to change in the future.
Speaker Paul Ryan talks about the new GOP tax plan.
Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
President Trump recently released his tax plan, but he’s also said he wants to stimulate the economy with infrastructure spending. Is one more effective than the other at boosting growth?
At the tertiary level, Australian households and international students contribute more than double the OECD average expenditure.
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Trump should drop his plans to cut taxes and instead look to some of our closest friends to learn what policies actually work to build and sustain a vibrant middle class.
There are new requirements for various welfare payment recipients in the latest federal budget.
Jason Reed/Reuters
The government is reinforcing the dichotomy between “them” and “us” with this budget’s welfare changes, but it lacks solid evidence of effectiveness.
With the 2017 Federal Budget release fast approaching, take a look back at the spending patterns of previous Australian governments.
Lukas Coch/Alan Porritt/Dean Lewins/AAP
Total government spending has increased over time. But the pressure on the budget under a Turnbull government is more acute now than ever before, because spending is outpacing revenue.
All of the increase in spending on social security and welfare is due to the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
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National governments do not, and should not, behave like a private household.
MYEFO is more positive about the 2016-17 budget bottom line than previous expectations. However, projections over the forward estimates have worsened.
Lukas Coch/AAP