The Friendly Facist
21-07-2004, 00:47
CHB (http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4856.shtml)
The latest federal deficit figures are out and, as predicted, they are not good.
Through the first nine months of fiscal 2004 the deficit, the difference between what the government takes in and what it spends, was $326.6 billion -- larger than all but one previous full-year deficit and on track to reach a record $450 billion to $477 billion when the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.
The record deficit to date was $374 billion last year, the younger Bush having eclipsed the earlier record of his father.
In the administration's last budget, the White House forecast this year's deficit at an eye-opening $520 billion, but many believed that this was a high-ball estimate so that if the final deficit comes in at what most analysts predict, the White House can say it was "only" $450 billion.
Senior Bush administration officials are said to believe that deficits don't really matter, and they don't -- to them. They'll be long gone by the time the bills come in.
But deficits have a short-term effect that can't be ignored. They add to the total national debt, currently at a rate of $1.7 billion a day, according to one debt watcher. The total public debt is now just over $7.2 trillion.
And herein lies a problem. There is a limit on how much the Treasury can borrow; to borrow more, Congress must raise the debt limit. The Treasury would like authority to borrow another $690 billion. Earlier this summer, the Treasury thought it could last until late summer without an increase. Now it suggests it might be able to hold out until October, but in any case, it really needs that increase.
Unfortunately, raising the debt limit -- the Bush administration has been forced to do it twice already -- is an occasion for political fun and games.
The Democrats say, "Lookee here. The Republicans went and spent all our money, and we've got to go out and borrow more."
And the Republicans reply, "The deficits are only temporary and thanks to the wisdom of our economic policies we'll get it all back and more."
Whom you believe can be settled this November. But right now Congress has very little time -- fewer than 30 legislative days until the members knock off to go campaigning. No one knows what would happen if Uncle Sam had to begin defaulting, and no one wants to find out. So, lawmakers have your fun and then raise the debt limit. Quickly.
Is the U.S going to ba as depicted in Dark angel in Thirty years? Or do The Neo-cons know something we dont and dont plan for there to be an economy very much longer.
The latest federal deficit figures are out and, as predicted, they are not good.
Through the first nine months of fiscal 2004 the deficit, the difference between what the government takes in and what it spends, was $326.6 billion -- larger than all but one previous full-year deficit and on track to reach a record $450 billion to $477 billion when the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.
The record deficit to date was $374 billion last year, the younger Bush having eclipsed the earlier record of his father.
In the administration's last budget, the White House forecast this year's deficit at an eye-opening $520 billion, but many believed that this was a high-ball estimate so that if the final deficit comes in at what most analysts predict, the White House can say it was "only" $450 billion.
Senior Bush administration officials are said to believe that deficits don't really matter, and they don't -- to them. They'll be long gone by the time the bills come in.
But deficits have a short-term effect that can't be ignored. They add to the total national debt, currently at a rate of $1.7 billion a day, according to one debt watcher. The total public debt is now just over $7.2 trillion.
And herein lies a problem. There is a limit on how much the Treasury can borrow; to borrow more, Congress must raise the debt limit. The Treasury would like authority to borrow another $690 billion. Earlier this summer, the Treasury thought it could last until late summer without an increase. Now it suggests it might be able to hold out until October, but in any case, it really needs that increase.
Unfortunately, raising the debt limit -- the Bush administration has been forced to do it twice already -- is an occasion for political fun and games.
The Democrats say, "Lookee here. The Republicans went and spent all our money, and we've got to go out and borrow more."
And the Republicans reply, "The deficits are only temporary and thanks to the wisdom of our economic policies we'll get it all back and more."
Whom you believe can be settled this November. But right now Congress has very little time -- fewer than 30 legislative days until the members knock off to go campaigning. No one knows what would happen if Uncle Sam had to begin defaulting, and no one wants to find out. So, lawmakers have your fun and then raise the debt limit. Quickly.
Is the U.S going to ba as depicted in Dark angel in Thirty years? Or do The Neo-cons know something we dont and dont plan for there to be an economy very much longer.