government finances

Has there been a real-world test of the Trump/Musk taxation plans? Yes, and it failed. Former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback ran for office in 2010 on the ...

The new year is always a great opportunity to shed vices like smoking and binge eating. For state and local lawmakers, their guilty pleasure tends to ...

PITTSBURGH (TNS) — According to the latest available numbers, 77% of Americans carry at least some debt, with the average American owing a little over...

DEAR RUSTY: I'm 72 years old with 20 years of military service. I am retired collecting Social Security, my military pension and state retirement bene...

HARRISBURG (TNS) — High-income people in Pennsylvania — and especially those with annual incomes greater than $1 million — pay a significantly lower e...

DEAR RUSTY: My wife will reach her full Social Security benefit at 66.5 years of age which is just under 2 years away for her now. If she were to begi...

An estimated 3 million New Yorkers on Medicaid or the state-run Essential Plan don’t have incomes low enough to be using the programs, according to a ...

HARRISBURG (TNS) — With 2025-26 budget discussions looming and a sense that the issue has been left unresolved, Pennsylvania lawmakers of both parties...

President Trump’s nomination of former Rep. Billy Long as the next commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service marks a pivotal moment for America’s t...

The Social Security Trust Fundwill run dry by 2033. At that point, incoming payroll tax revenues will be able to pay just 79% of scheduled benefits. T...

Federal agencies reported $161.5 billion in improper payments during fiscal year 2024, according to data released by the Office of Management and Budg...

David Walkerran the Government Accountability Office for a decade, under both a Republican and Democratic president. Elected officials should take him...

HARRISBURG — More Pennsylvania retirees will soon qualify for a reduction in their vehicle registration fee under a new state law taking effect Sunday...

DEAR RUSTY: Please explain the Medicare premium increase based on income reported to Social Security. For those of us who waited to draw Social Securi...

Progressives who argue that “the rich” should pay their “fair share” of income taxes are inadvertently arguing they should get a tax cut. The IRS rece...

Medicare Advantage was supposed to save taxpayers money when it was created in 2003. Instead, it costs the government 22% more per enrollee than tradi...

HARRISBURG (TNS) — New and bleak numbers from the state Independent Fiscal Office could harden partisan views on Pennsylvania's long-term financial he...

Pennsylvanians just elected 228 state senators and representatives. These candidates-turned-lawmakers spent the past several months doing all the chal...

DEAR RUSTY: The Social Security program is funded by employees and their employers. The federal government does not contribute to the program, right? ...

PHILADELPHIA (TNS) — Vice President Kamala Harris has coined a phrase when talking about the potential future of the U.S. economy under former Preside...