The federal budget deficit is projected to be nearly $490 billion this fiscal year, a new record. The deficit will add to the national debt, which already is more than $9 trillion and requires annual interest payments of about $235 billion.
This means that the next president will face a huge financial hole. But that hasn’t caused John McCain and Barack Obama to stop digging – both are proposing more tax cuts.
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24 Comments
Looks like he’s even out done his hero, Saint Ronnie!
“But that hasn’t caused John McCain and Barack Obama to stop digging – both are proposing more tax cuts.”
phillip tardlee must believe that lower taxes means lower revenue. Mr. tardlee must believe that B. Hussein Obama’s tax cuts would really mean anything.
Mr. tardley must not know that spending too much is the problem.
Remember when Conservatives bragged daily how federal receipts were the highest ever due to Bush tax cuts? Remember when?
Fleetwood: If you are going to invoke the spirit of Art Laffer, make sure you understand “the Laffer Curve” Funny thing about Art Laffer, when he drew his curve on a napkin, he never really defined that enigmatic “Point” did he?
You know the point, where raising taxes equals less revenues. Apparantly Bill Clinton was on a different “Laffer curve” because he raised taxes and raised revenues. So how is this “Laffer curve” different than Bill Clinton’s “Laffer curve”?
Also, if your going to scoff at the spirit of John Maynard Keynes (too much priming the pump, too much spending) then explain our current president’s page directly from Keynesian economics.
The cons LOVE the 1950’s right?
Well, we can bring them SOME good from back in the good old fifties.
Sorry cons, I don’t mean making black people and women second class citizens again.
No what we need to reach back into the fifties and get is the tax code from that time.
Come on Fleetwood, the first question is easy. I practically gave it to you.
More of the “record” deficit. I guess phillip tardlee thought this wasn’t important.
“The numbers represent about 3 percent of the size of the economy, which is the deficit measure seen as most relevant by economists. That’s considerably smaller than the deficits of the 1980s and early 1990s, when Congress and earlier administrations cobbled together politically painful deficit-reduction packages.”
Fiscal Responsibility – GOP style. Brought to us by a guy who bankrupted business after business. Maybe he can call Poppy to bail this one out.
Wow-wee!
Just wait until my kid’s find out that along with original sin, they get to pay for all of ours and our parents’ and grandparents’ as well.
We all will get what we deserve.
Awesome.
“fleettwood” trips over reality –
“…the 1980s and early 1990s, when Congress and earlier administrations cobbled together politically painful deficit-reduction packages.”
Remember what those “politically painful” measures were in the late 1980s and early 1990s?
George HW Bush broke his “no new taxes” pledge, because Reaganomics was tanking. And Bill Clinton raised taxes for the rich which led to a balanced budget and prosperity in the 90s.
Ah, but it was “politically painful” because it led to the Gingrich Revolution in Congress and the culture of corruption run by Tom DeLay’s K-Street Project and the Bridge to Nowhere and Jim Ryun’s sweetheart D.C. real estate deal, and Jack Abramoff, and Italia Federici, Bob Ney, Steven Griles, Tony Rudy, David Safavian, Michael Scanlon, William Heaton, Neil Volz, Mark Zachares, Don Young, Roger Stillwell, Adam Kidan… (don’t get me started). ;^)
The sad fact is: Good Economic Policy is Bad Politics. Bad Economic Policy is Good Politics.
Nobody likes taxes.
But taxes are the admission fee to civilization.
When CONs rant against taxes, they show their true agenda: chaos and anarchy and the hopes that they’ll be able to shoot their way out of the consequences for their atavistic agenda.
One of the flaws of our form of republicon/democratic government is ONLY MINIMAL BARRIERS EXIST to prevent deficit spending.
In local government, “a vote of the people” is sometimes required. But as we saw with the vote on the downtown arena, it was OK for a few county commissioners plus a few out of town hired guns plus the contractors who expected to profit on the backs of the small taxpayers … TO FLAT OUT LIE TO THE VOTERS TO BARELY EKE OUT A VERY SLIGHT MAJORITY VOTE. Now looking back, virtually nothing they said was true. It was a giant lie to separate 1/2 billion dollars from the citizens.
On the state level, the Kansas Constitution supposedly requires “cash basis” spending. But somehow various loopholes exist so Kansas government is in a precarious debt spending situation.
In Washington DC, our national politicians always seem to push our massive growing debt onto the next President and Congress as though they are going to suddenly happily start paying for the “visions and dreams” of previous elected officials.
Meantime, China purchases some 60% of our new nearly 10 trillion dollars of debt and collects interest payments on it. My guess is the federal government borrows more money to pay the interest payments … paying interest to pay interest!
On the national level, Citizens of America need to adopt a constitutional amendment that says any President and/or Congress and/or state legislature and/or city council that spends more than the regular income from taxes for its “visions and dreams” … shall be handcuffed on the last day of their terms of office and imprisoned for life with no hope for parole.
THAT’S THE CHANGE WE DESPERATELY NEED IN AMERICA.
“Maybe he can call Poppy to bail this one out.”
Wasn’t it the Poppy’s friends the Saudis who bailed GW out of his failed oil ventures? I would guess they are not inclined to help this time.
And the only way out of this mess is to cut benefits/entitlements (spending) AND raise taxes. A reality/policy that is political poison – as MH points out.
Another Republican legacy with a record budget deficit. Let’s hurry and get to a Democratic government where Republicans can’t filibuster everything so we can get back to smaller budgets, smaller government and a better economy. We’ll never get there with these borrow and spend Republicans constantly disrupting progress.
“And the only way out of this mess is to cut benefits/entitlements ” steven davis
No cut military spending, tax the hell out of those who can afford it, and cut benefits and entitlements.
The latest bribe this administration foisted on us in the form of a $600 check is a glowing example of how screwed up government truly is. While children are subject to poor medical treatment, and a program was out there that would have cost $10 billion, this “stimulus” package cost over 100 billion. The Iraqi war has cost over 2 TRILLION.
Then we got a city council that loans millions out at basically zero interest, rams a downtown white elephant down tax payers throats and laughs it off. We have over 60% of this countries people using their credit cards as emergency funds.
We have no idea as to the real value of money. It might as well be toilet paper. And our kids kids will be paying for it. Ridiculous. Give me Clinton, knobbers and a balanced budget any day.
“phillip tardlee must believe that lower taxes means lower revenue. Mr. tardlee must believe that B. Hussein Obama’s tax cuts would really mean anything.”
ooooh. Old Drive By Fleetwood came up with a clever insult name for Phillip Brownlee. Fleetwood wins!
Only in Drive By’s own mind.
“Mr. tardley must not know that spending too much is the problem.”
It is part of the problem. Cutting revenue is the other part.
Hold the line on or cut spending, and hold the line on or increase taxes. That’s the only way budget deficits get reduced (the conservative BS of pointing to increases in revenue during good economic times when taxes are cut ignores the reality that the good economic times would have occurred anyway-when the economy goes south again, as it invariably does, then you have governments running up deficits). Anyone who thinks that we can make deep enough cuts in spending so that long term tax cuts can consistently increase revenue is blind to the political realities, particularly with our aging population and the associated needs that they will have.
We have had very few presidential candidates who have been honest about the issue (and no Sol, Ron Paul is definitely NOT one of them). The last really honest candidate who I am aware of on this issue lost to a guy who actually (along with, it must be said, a Republican Congress) succeeded in reducing the deficit and the debt. That individual was the late Paul Tsongas.
Hopefully, both Obama and McCain are actually being a little dishonest on this particular issue (like Bush the First and Bill Clinton).
“The numbers represent about 3 percent of the size of the economy, which is the deficit measure seen as most relevant by economists” — Fleetwood.
.
“The economy of the United States is the world’s largest national economy. Its gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated as $13.8 trillion in 2007.” – wikipedia
Since the debt is about ten trillion that amounts to about 72 percent of the GDP. Way to go cons. Looks like you’re going to get your wish. I hope you enjoy it when you grandpa moves in with you. The irony of this is CONS are heavily represented among those who receive Social Security. Conservatism is really the aging of America, or dementia. It’s ironic too, that the Fox channel and conservative talk radio are mainly listened to by oldsters or the middle aged.
cnn, September 2007:
The Senate overwhelmingly voted to override the veto, 79 to 14, with a majority of Republicans and Democrats rejecting Bush’s assertion that the bill was fiscally irresponsible.
My point? simple…no matter how much you try, you cannot pin this entire deficit debacle on one person. While I am totally disillusioned with the president, I still can see beyond blinders and recognize that the Congress also has a major hand in the deficit as well–due to record pork barrel spending.
fleettwood
Posted July 28, 2008 at 1:20 pm | Permalink
phillip tardlee must believe that lower taxes means lower revenue.
—
Reason #10,269 why the Republics and McCain are seen by the American public as about twice as ignorant of macroeconomics than the Democrats.
“No cut military spending…”
We will need to cut spending of all kinds and also cut into popular programs like Medicare – we will need to raise the minimum age for that benefit.
The alternatives for future generations is too grim to even consider.
“The alternatives for future generations is too grim to even consider.”
Probably. But a lot of countries are in the same position. You could also means test SS. When my friend turned 65 he said doctors were calling him up, inviting him to come in and take tests.
What an engaging thread…
Republican presidents and congress, controlled by either democrats or republicans, are so stupid regarding money that they cant even understand a simple two cigar box example.
If you spend more than you bring it, you have a deficit. Either increase the revenue, decrease the spending, or do both.
WTF is SO HARD to understand about that?
Laffer must be laughing his ass off. The only OTHER hoax on the taxpayer that is bigger and more blatent is “economic development” as practiced today.
Every economic development director and chamber of commerce president in the state operates off this motto:
“for me! For me! A share of the plunder FOR ME!”
And voters are so freakin’ stupid… we let them.
…of course, for the cons, it’s all good as long as the money in the public treasury goes to CORPORATE persons and not REAL persons.
Corporate welfare = good
Human welfare = bad
Only in con world…