See all topics

These are the best new articles, videos, podcasts, and other resources we have found to teach fiscal policy, taxes, and government budget. They bring economics to life by showing students real-life examples and current events.
 

News Articles

(Listed from most recent to oldest)

Federal government reopens after record shutdown but impact could linger. Live updates | USA Today (Nov. 13, 2025)
The historic 43 day shutdown is over. Here’s an overview of reopening the federal government, and some of the work backlog that piled up in October.

Tracking the money Trump's tariffs are bringing in | Politico
Visualize and compare tariff revenue this year compared to last.

These are the longest government shutdowns in U.S. history  | Quartz (Oct. 1, 2025)
The Federal Government shut down at 12:01 am on Oct. 1, and no one knows when it will reopen, but betting markets suggest it may be weeks. Here’s an overview of previous shutdowns.

Trump’s tariffs are bringing in tens of billions of dollars a month. What’s the government doing with all that money? | CNN Business (Aug. 6, 2025)
US tariff revenue is up 242% from last year, with nearly $30 billion collected last month. Should that money pay down the debt or be turned into “tariff rebate checks”?

China to offer $500 per child in move to boost birth rate | DW (July 28, 2025)
After ending their one child policy in 2016, China is now working to reverse population declines by offering a $500 subsidy per year for a child’s first 3 years. The national roll-out follows in the steps of prior regional subsidy efforts, but whether the small subsidy will be enough to persuade couples to have more children remains to be seen.

French PM looks to scrap two public holidays in bold bid to cut national debt | BBC (July 15, 2025)
The French PM wants to slash 2 public holidays, freeze spending (except on defense), end some tax breaks, and reduce the number of civil servants. But his plan to cut holidays risks a no-confidence vote. It's never easy to reduce the budget.

M&S faces possible court battle over VAT on viral strawberry sandwich⎟ Retail Gazette (June 30, 2025)
Debate is raging over the proper tax classification of M&S strawberry sandwiches. As a sandwich, the food is exempt from 20% VAT, but if it is considered a “sweetened prepared foods eaten with the fingers,” then it is subject to VAT.

Trump says he would support a millionaires tax — if it weren't bad politics | Quartz (Apr. 25, 2025)
Trump just said out loud what many economists argue is a weakness of countercyclical fiscal policy–raising taxes on people who vote for you isn’t likely to win you an election.

UK forges ahead with billions in welfare spending cuts as growth forecast halved | CNBC (March 26, 2025)
Reeves, the British Finance Minister, announced billions of pounds in spending cuts to meet self-imposed requirements to balance the budget with tax receipts, and address global economic uncertainty.

UK budget: Britain targets the wealthy as it hikes taxes by $52 billion | CNN Business (Oct. 30, 2024)
Reeves, the first female UK finance minister, announced significant tax increases that push the tax to a projected 38% of the country’s GDP.

Fiscal Policy, Taxes, and Government Budgets: Labour's move to tax private education leaves Britain divided | Reuters (Sept. 30, 2024)
The British Labour party moved to remove the tax exemption for private education, a move reinstates a 20% VAT on tuition, in order to increase revenues for state schools. Whether the British public will accept the move remains to be seen.

Ireland’s luxury problem: what to do with its €8.6bn surplus |  Financial Times (Sept. 2, 2024)
Ireland has an unusual budget problem-a 8.6 billion surplus. Uncertain about the longevity of additional revenue, Irish officials face political pressure to spend the money while indicating a desire to save for downturns. Teachers can get free access to the Financial Times via the FT Schools program.

China's faltering growth revives cash vouchers talk | Reuters (Aug. 16, 2024)
After slower than expected economic growth in the second quarter, Beijing is facing pressure to boost consumer spending (and economic growth) via fiscal stimulus.

Explainer: What's next after Kenya withdraws finance bill amid protests? | Reuters (June 27, 2024)
Balancing the budget isn't as simple as raising taxes to cover a gap. In this extreme example, Kenya has been rocked by protests of a finance bill set to raise an additional $2.7 billion in taxes on items including sugar, cooking oil, diapers, and car ownership to balance the budget and satisfy lenders such as the IMF.

U.S. spending on interest tops national defense, Medicare | The Center Square (May 13, 2024)
Congress has spent $3.9 trillion so far this fiscal year, including $514 billion on interest on the debt.

America’s debt problem could spell higher interest rates in the rest of the world | CNN Business (April 17, 2024)
The IMF is warning that federal spending is contributing to inflation and raising borrowing costs worldwide.

Trudeau should curb spending to make way for Bank of Canada rate cuts, economists say | Reuters (March 5, 2024)
Is government spending fueling Canadian inflation? Will cutting spending hasten rate cuts by the central bank?

France revises up 2024 deficit target, announces more spending cuts | Reuters (Apr 10, 2024)
France hasn’t posted a budget surplus since 1974. The country plans to make $10 billion in cuts before sending a revised spending plan to Brussels.

Economists warn fiscal squeeze to hit eurozone next year | Financial Times (Dec. 22, 2023)
EU countries agreed to tighter fiscal rules limiting debts and deficits after 3 years of loser policy due to Covid. Teachers can get free access to the Financial Times via the FT Schools program.

How Germany’s ‘debt brake’ broke the budget | Financial Times (Nov. 23, 2023)
In 2009, Germany adopted a constitutional provision to limit fiscal spending. The German government has implemented a few workarounds but is now facing a budget crisis after a workaround was struck down as unconstitutional. Teachers can get free access to the Financial Times via the FT Schools program.

Watch out Europe, Italy is spending again | Politico (Sept. 27, 2023)
Tax credit extensions, increasing debt servicing costs, decreasing GDP and revenue are adding up to be a looming budget crisis in Italy.

The Programs You’d Have to Cut to Balance the Budget | The New York Times (March 6, 2023)
What would it take to balance the federal budget? The NYTimes has an interactive tool to show what spending cuts in different scenarios would balance the budget, along with an overview showing different budget plans and tax hike options to close the deficit.

Central banks will fail to tame inflation without better fiscal policy, study says | Reuters (August 27, 2022)
A new study presented at the Fed's Jackson Hole conference suggests that HALF of recent inflation was due to fiscal policy, and the Fed acting alone will be insufficient to control inflation unless more prudent (read contractionary) fiscal policy measures are also implemented. A great example for students to consider how monetary and fiscal policy interact.
Resource: Worksheet

Graphics

The Federal Budget in Fiscal Year 2023: An Infographic | CBO

Income support during the pandemic | Our World in Data
Compare countries’ fiscal responses to the unemployment caused by the global pandemic.

Videos

Christina Romer | MRU
Learn about Christina Romer’s life, her research on monetary and fiscal policy and her invaluable contributions during the Great Recession.

Keynesianism: The story behind this key economic theory | BBC
In the long run, we’re all dead. In the meantime, check out this entertaining explainer of Keynesianism and its recent political applications.

Fiscal Policy | MRU
Sometimes a video is worth a thousand words. This video has some great graphics to help students understand the fiscal multiplier and crowding out.

How tax brackets actually work | Vox 
A nice visual explanation of the often misunderstood marginal tax rate.

Podcasts

Recession remedies: Lessons learned from expanded unemployment insurance during COVID-19 | The Hamilton Project 
This podcast summarizes five lessons learned from the expansion of the unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. The related paper is also available.

I Lent $999.78 To The Federal Government | Planet Money
How much does a threat of default affect the ability of the government to borrow money? Turns out - not all that much.

Additional Resources

The Budget Game: Can you run the UK economy? | Financial Times
The Financial Times has a new fiscal policy game where you can set the UK budget with the help of an advisor of your choice.

People's Pie | Icivics.org
An interactive that allows students to choose taxes and retirement age, approve or cut funding of projects, and check if they have gone over budget. They have to do this for three years so this interactive might take lots of time. Thank you Theresa Fischer for sharing!

The Fiscal Ship | Fiscalship.org

See all topics