Obama sings the blues but it is Republicans who feel down
As confidence in the White House about the election grows, the president may be enjoying his best moment in office since his January 2009 inauguration
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US Congress continues to skirmish over budgets ahead of a big fight after the 2012 election when Bush-era tax cuts expire and $1,200bn of automatic spending cuts bite
US Congress passes payroll tax extension
In a rare show of cross-party agreement, both Republican and Democratic leaders hailed the vote which they said offered relief to 160m workers
US congressional negotiators reach payroll tax deal
House and Senate leaders made a tentative pact to pass the extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance
Obama targets rich in budget plan
Proposals to double levy on dividends amplify White House’s intensifying policy pitch that the wealthy should pay higher taxes
Obama sets out his budget priorities
The budget’s main goal is to bring down the deficit by pushing through tax increases on wealthy Americans, while leaving funds to spend on discretionary projects
Obama budget promises deficit cuts with growth
With control of Congress divided between Republicans in the House and Democrats in the Senate, the final result is unlikely to resemble the proposal
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Growth of the US federal debt since 1970
This interactive graphic shows the US federal debt as a proportion of GDP, along with every date that the US debt ceiling has been raised since 1970.
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Comment and analysis
Obama’s budget for an election year
As far as it went – not far enough – it was at least broadly in the right direction but it was a campaigning document, not one to restore US finances
An American budget for the rich and powerful
The poor are the losers as US political parties converge not to the centre of public opinion, but well to the right, writes Jeffrey Sachs
We must wait until December 31 for the real budget action
President Obama’s final budget of his first term is as much a campaign document as an actual budget, writes Roger Altman
The mirage of Obama’s defence cuts
In spite of having pared back its armed forces by 100,000, the US will still have more citizens in uniform than it had on the eve of 9/11, writes Edward Luce
US budget in 2012: tighten that belt
Sense of desperation about spending other people’s money as it becomes clear that 2013 marks the start of a new, austere era
Fight over US budget warm-up for battles to come
Skirmishes over small points ignore the real issues: rising healthcare and pension costs and an unwillingness to levy enough tax to pay for them,
US jobs package
Congress should renew the payroll tax cut before it expires. US growth is too fragile at this stage to risk fiscal contraction
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