The surge of migrants at America’s southern border looms large as a 2024 election issue. But the debate about our immigration policies and what is actually happening is filled with confusion and misinformation. A look at the data shows a reality considerably different from common perception; we are suffering from a complicated, overburdened system that […]

Mike Johnson, the new Republican Speaker of the House, has lost no time in taking aim at a favorite Republican whipping boy: the Internal Revenue Service. Under the guise of offsetting the cost of aid to Israel, Johnson has proposed budget cuts for the IRS (on top of cuts the Republicans won during the debt […]

Thanks to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Democrats, a shutdown of the federal government was barely averted last weekend. Why is this happening so soon after Republicans and Democrats were supposed to have resolved their fiscal differences during the debt ceiling drama less than four months ago? The short answer: because the hard-right Republicans decided […]

The federal government is careening toward a shutdown as soon as Saturday night. Why is this happening so soon after Republicans and Democrats were supposed to have resolved their fiscal differences during the debt ceiling drama less than four months ago? The short answer: because the hard-right Republicans decided to ignore that agreement. In the […]

As expected, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and also as expected, signaled that at least one more rate increase may be in the offing. But amidst continuing economic strength and inflation still well above the central bank’s 2% target, the Fed also indicated that rates are likely to remain higher for […]