The Deficit Is Disappearing!!!

Email Print posted by KenTX 08/26/2007 09:04:21 PM EST

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What is going on here?

We are running an expensive two-front war against al Qaeda.

Bush is cutting taxes by historical proportions.

The Democrats and their accomplices in the liberal mainstream media claim the economy is in shambles.

And yet the deficit is disappearing!

You liberals really have some explaining to do.

Thu Aug 23, 5:31 PM ET

The federal budget deficit is coming down faster than expected and will likely be reduced to 158 billion dollars for the current fiscal year, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday.

The nonpartisan research office said the deficit for fiscal 2007, which ends September 30, would be 19 billion dollars less than it estimated in March and a decline of 90 billion dollars from last year.

"Higher-than-anticipat ed revenues, mostly from individual income taxes, improved the budget outlook for this year; they were partially offset by outlays from supplemental supplemental appropriations" mainly for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the CBO said.

The CBO's projected deficit is also smaller than the forecast by the White House in July of 205 billion dollars.

Under the CBO projections, the deficit this year would be 1.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), down from 1.9 percent in 2006.

For fiscal 2008 starting October 1, the deficit would be little changed at 155 billion dollars, assuming no changes in current law or spending plans, CBO said.

The deficit would rise in fiscal 2009 and 2010 before narrowing in 2011. A surplus of 62 billion dollars is forecast for 2012, but that assumes no changes in law and the expiration of many tax cuts enacted in recent years.

The CBO based its estimates on 2.1 percent economic growth this year and an expansion of 2.9 percent in 2008.
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The Deficit Is Disappearing!!! | 16 comments (16 topical, 0 hidden)
The CBO explains it well enough. (none / 0)

You may want to check it out. Um lets see, you like budget surpluses.

"CBO’s budget projections are based not only on longstanding rules about the treatment of current laws and policies but also on various assumptions about how the economy will perform in the future and how tax and
spending policies will affect that performance.

Because actual outcomes will almost certainly differ from CBO’s projections, it is useful to view those projections as a range of potential outcomes rather than as a single streamof numbers."


I suppose your willing to give up the tax cuts then: 

"Combining certain policy alternatives could significantly worsen the budget outlook. For example, if all expiring tax provisions were extended,( as Bush demands) the AMT was indexed for inflation, regular discretionary appropriations grew at the same rate as nominal GDP, and all other programs operated as assumed in the baseline ( ie maintain troop levels in Iraq), the budget would show a deficit equal to 4.4 percent of GDP in 2017. "

Or  pull out of Iraq

"Alternatively,if all other assumptions remained as in the baseline but the number of troops deployed for operations related to the war on terrorism declined to 30,000 by 2010, the projected surplus in 2017 would equal 1.5 percent of GDP."

No matter: 

"Attaining fiscal stability in the coming decades will almost certainly require some combination of reductions in the growth of spending and increases in taxes as a share of the economy."

 Explain that. Of course as the mortgage and housing debacle expands and Bush pulls the trigger on Iran and we get $100+ oil...all bets are off.

 

by MRFred on 08/26/2007 09:56:18 PM EST

Another option. (none / 0)
"Attaining fiscal stability in the coming decades will almost certainly require some combination of reductions in the growth of spending and increases in taxes as a share of the economy."

Instead of reductions in the growth of spending on a 3 TRILLION DOLLAR ANNUAL FEDERAL BUDGET, what if we dramatically cut federal spending?

by KenTX on 08/27/2007 02:47:38 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Cool. (none / 0)
Start with the Military. Do away with it.

The Executive Branch could use a spring cleaning too....

by MedfordTim on 08/27/2007 10:06:00 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Sure (none / 0)

I guess that means your willing to pull out of Iraq since the DOD is the the largest component of the federal budget. By the way why do corporations pay less taxes than individuals?  

Of course your gunning for Social Security but before you go there , note that SS is " in the black" for now.Even If we do nothing SS will still be able to pay at 77% of the projected benifits in 2040. It works with some adjustments it will work into the next century...Hey I know lets "privatize it" so Bushes cronies can rape yet another segment of the population. Lets deregulate it...kinda like ..um lets see...mortgages!

Um...that leaves Medicade...No....cant have all those grannies dying in the streets. Bad for "compassionate conservatism." Bad for the HMO crowd and Drug companies...

Next Up: Unemployment and Welfare. Sure we can fuck those guys with impunity since as I recall in your estimation they are all "derelicts drunks and winos". But don't cut it so fast...the upcoming Bush/Real Estate recession will make that difficult.

Interest on the debt is a  big part of the budget..hey here's an idea..stop borrowing and make corporations pay there fair share. Just think we are paying finance charges for each " AQI"  terrorist, all 1500 of em...we have killed.

 

 Income:

  1. $1.1 trillion (+12.1%) - Individual income tax
  2. $884.1 billion (+7.4%) - Social Security and other payroll taxes
  3. $260.6 billion (+15.5%) - Corporate income tax
  4. $74.6 billion (+1.3%) - Excise taxes
  5. $28.1 billion (+0.7%) - Customs duties
  6. $23.7 billion (+9.2%) - Estate and gift taxes
  7. $48.4 billion (+14.0%) - Other
Expenses:
  1. $699 billion (+4.0%) - Defense
  2. $586.1 billion (+7.0%) - Social Security
  3. $394.5 billion (+12.4%) - Medicare
  4. $367.0 billion (+2.0%) - Unemployment and welfare
  5. $276.4 billion (+2.9%) - Medicaid and other health related
  6. $243.7 billion (+13.4%) - Interest on debt
  7. $89.9 billion (+1.3%) - Education and training
  8. $76.9 billion (+8.1%) - Transportation
  9. $72.6 billion (+5.8%) - Veterans' benefits
  10. $43.5 billion (+9.2%) - Administration of justice
  11. $33.1 billion (+5.7%) - Natural resources and environment
  12. $32.5 billion (+15.4%) - Foreign affairs
  13. $27.0 billion (+3.7%) - Agriculture
  14. $26.8 billion (+28.7%) - Community and regional development
  15. $25.0 billion (+4.0%) - Science and technology
  16. $20.1 billion (+11.4%) - General government
  17. $1.1 billion (+47.6%) - Energy

 

Oh...seriously...did you get any flooding last go round in Houston? 

by MRFred on 08/27/2007 10:06:29 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Let them eat cake (none / 0)
...make corporations pay there fair share.

Let's raise the tax rate on bakeries. Oh, they'll raise the price of bread to pay the tax? The end consumer pays all corporate income taxes.

by Twba on 08/27/2007 10:26:59 AM EST

[ Parent ]
By the same logic (none / 0)
I assume the energy companies are passing along the tax breaks they get to the consumer....

by MRFred on 08/27/2007 11:04:43 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Logic (none / 0)
A corporate tax break is less tax hidden in the retail price. The end consumer pays all corporate taxes.

by Twba on 08/28/2007 07:50:31 AM EST

[ Parent ]
WOW (none / 0)

I always thought that that consumers and the market set the price of most goods in a capitalistic society. I.E. something is only worth what a person is willing to pay for it.

I guess you are never too old to learn something new. 

by z1p101 on 08/28/2007 10:33:18 AM EST

[ Parent ]
All on credit (none / 0)
Deficit down 158 billion, DEBT up 1 trillion.

Yeah, really doing gangbusters....

by MedfordTim on 08/27/2007 05:56:29 AM EST

didn't happen (none / 0)
Budget Deficit?  What budget deficit?  I thought fiscally conservative Republicans were in charge in Congress since 1994 and in the White House since 2000.  There's no way we could have gotten into a budget deficit with the country in the hands of sound fiscal conservatives.

by yturks on 08/27/2007 06:25:08 AM EST

Ken finds a rose in a pile of tuds (none / 0)
Ken, like a good shill has given us the smoke and mirrors of budget projections.

First let’s examine what Ken is telling us. Our National Debt isn’t going up as fast as it was. WOW! Good job Shrub! We haven’t saved anything we just aren’t accumulating debt as fast as we were. I’m thinking it might be time to celebrate and have a big party and fancy parade all at Taxpayers expense of course because with all the “savings” Shrub has made, we can certainly afford it.

As Fred points out this exciting news is based on certain projections that will probably not occur, but Ken would just like everyone to "Keep hope alive".

It’s not so much a single deficit that concerns me its debt, and what has Shrub and Co. given us in the last seven years?

National debt has risen from 5.75$ trillion to almost $9 trillion.

Ken’s, hosannas remind me of the free spending housewife who tells her husband that the credit card spending isn’t so bad because even if  they can only afford the minimum payment it’s Okay because the Credit Card company has raised the limits. Even if we are still spending more that we make it’s Okay because we still have credit we can use.

Besides that, like a good wife she only bought 3 dresses this week, not the 5 she’s been buying.

In 2006 the "interest" on the national debt was $406 Billion, or almost 7 times as much as the $61 Billion we spent on Education.

Here’s an interesting chart that shows each president from FDR and the U.S. debt. It’s amazing that it appears that the party of fiscal responsibility seems to put things on the charge card at a higher rate than those free spending liberals. Of course Shrub and his Republican controlled Congress have made spending reminiscent of how a drunken sailor acts in a Subic City whore house.

I’m not saying I’m just saying.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative." John Stuart Mill

by Hubble on 08/27/2007 09:37:56 AM EST

[ Parent ]
"tuds"? (none / 0)
Karl Rove = Tud Blossom?

:-)

by MedfordTim on 08/27/2007 10:03:25 AM EST

[ Parent ]
No... its a flash back from Subic (none / 0)
"Hey GI I love you good. Love you long time not rike the tud hore over there..." Sucky Fucky?

by MRFred on 08/27/2007 10:15:10 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Apples and orange turds (none / 0)
In 2006 the "interest" on the national debt was $406 Billion, or almost 7 times as much as the $61 Billion we spent on Education.

Total federal, state and local spending on education, both public and private, was $745 billion for the 2001/2002 school year.

by Twba on 08/27/2007 10:13:36 AM EST

[ Parent ]
You're right! (none / 0)
That was apples and oranges - mixing in state, local, and private to the Fed contribution.

I wonder what would happen if we added all the State, Local and individual business costs to the Irq invasion...how much more would the bottom line be? National Guard costs, businesses and jobs lost due to extended deployments, local health and mental health facility costs when there are no VA facilities available, all those hidden costs...

Ken's focus on only the deficit is exactly what the politicians WANT people to focus on so the "ripples" will go unnoticed.

Nothing will change until the Fed is outlawed and Corporations lose their status as "people." Then we might get to see how bad off we REALLY are.

by MedfordTim on 08/27/2007 10:54:12 AM EST

[ Parent ]
A more meaningful graph. (none / 0)
I would be willing to bet that when George Bush leaves office, his numbers on this graph will equal Clinton's, in spite of the fact that Bush presided over a world war and a deep recession.
national debt

by KenTX on 08/28/2007 08:05:35 PM EST

[ Parent ]
The Deficit Is Disappearing!!! | 16 comments (16 topical, 0 hidden)
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