Truthout
Austerity
![President Joe Biden arrives at an event in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 11, 2023, in Washington, D.C.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1489244768-400x300.jpg)
Progressives Worry Biden Remarks May Signal Concession to GOP Spending Cuts
He showed openness to budget negotiations with House Republicans, who are using the threat of default to push for cuts.
![Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy speaks during a news conference after a budget briefing at the U.S. Capitol on March 8, 2023, in Washington, D.C.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/03/2023_0321-kevin-mccarthy-400x300.jpg)
New Assessments From Federal Agencies Underscore Harm of GOP Budget Cuts
From mass evictions to education cuts, GOP austerity would impose “irreparable damage” on millions of people.
![Elementary schoolgirl enters the school cafeteria.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1191725369-400x300.jpg)
NYC’s Austerity Budget Is Leaving Asylum-Seeking Students With Few Resources
Schools are scrambling to provide asylum seekers with everything from warm clothing to emotional support.
![New York City Mayor Eric Adams prepares to give a speech and release his Fiscal Year 2023 Executive Budget at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York on April 26, 2022.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-1393872705-400x300.jpg)
As COVID-Era Funding Dries Up, Activists Fight Austerity in City Budget Battles
Democratic mayors in cities like New York and Philadelphia are pushing for cuts, but organizers are pushing back.
![Little girl getting book off a book shelf in a library](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1333572030-400x300.jpg)
As the Public Focuses on Book Bans, the Right Is Quietly Defunding Libraries
To protect libraries, we need to fight defunding as hard as we fight book bans.
![U.S. House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy speaks during his weekly news conference, June 25, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1252426694-400x300.jpg)
McCarthy’s Concessions to MAGA Diehards Have Paved the Way to Brutal Austerity
McCarthy has signed too many promissory notes, and now there are too many liens on his speaker’s gavel.
![Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is seen outside a House Republican Steering Committee meeting to select committee chairs in the U.S. Capitol on January 9, 2023.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/01/2023_0109-kevin-mccarthy-400x300.jpg)
What Did McCarthy Promise GOP Extremists in Backroom Deals?
Reports indicate that the new speaker expressed willingness to leverage the debt ceiling to pursue spending cuts.
![People watch as army jets fly overhead](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1222-army-jets-400x300.jpg)
Democrats Are Making a Devil’s Bargain on Pentagon Funding. It’s Not Paying Off.
Progressives can’t win unless Pentagon spending is put on the chopping block.
![Sen. John Thune](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/11/2022_1130-john-thune-400x300.jpg)
Progressives Say Congress Must Raise Debt Limit Now to Protect Social Programs
Republicans could use a fight over the debt ceiling next year as leverage to push cuts on Social Security and Medicare.
![Business owner Joe Chahayed (right) holds a Powerball bonus check outside Joe's Service Center, which sold the winning Powerball ticket of $2.04 billion in Altadena, California on November 8, 2022.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1244626983-400x300.jpg)
The Working Class Lost the $2 Billion Powerball Lottery
The lottery is effectively a regressive tax that often replaces state funding for education with ticket revenue.