States grapple with rounding problem for cash purchases as pennies dwindle

Washington ignores America's fiscal cliff

<p>The United States faces a dire and unsustainable <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/11/trump-tariffs-gdp-national-deficit" target="_blank">fiscal outlook</a>. You'd never know it from the action in Washington.</p><ul><li>Across parties and policy areas, you'd never guess that the U.S. faces fiscal constraints created by its high-and-rising public debt, ballooning deficits without precedent in times of prosperity, and a looming entitlement spending crisis when the Social Security trust fund runs out.</li></ul><hr><p><strong>State of play: </strong>Consider, instead, recent policy developments that will meaningfully affect the fiscal picture for the worse.</p><ul><li>The Trump administration is seeking <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/19/200-billion-iran-war-hegseth-penntagon" target="_blank">$200 billion</a> to fund the Iran war and replenish depleted weaponry.</li><li>The Supreme Court struck down the administration's use of emergency authority to impose tariffs, and le...