It turns out David Leonhardt at the New York Times has offered a detailed analysis of CBO budget data going back to the Bill Clinton-ear surpluses, "For U.S., a Sea of Perilous Red Ink, Years in the Making":
The U.S. has monumental economic, fiscal, and social issues to address. Democrats and netroots leftists spin the data on the budget and Social Security as if it's all a Republican problem, that it's all the GOP's fault. But America's unsustainable economic commitments are bipartisan. We're going to need a presidential candidate committed to restoring the founding vision of real fiscal federalism in the United States. Anything else will be a harbinger for national collapse. Think California on a national scale.
Graphic Credit: New York Times.
4 comments:
Nice post their Dr.
I'm watching the "Pay-as you go" or PAYGO bill the president is pushing.
Some Congressman are throwing stones, saying its just driven by PR.
But I must say that "whatever" the presidents reasons.......simply put,a dollar out means a dollar in, is the proper, responsible regulation for spending tax dollars.
Does anyone remember that Obama already waived the existing PAYGO to pass the $1.1 trillion stimulus bill, and, congress routinely waived PAYGO in the past.
So let me get this straight – We’re already at $1.8 trillion deficit this year, Obama pushed and shoved his $787 billion [non] stimulus package through, plus $350 million for bail-outs and NOW presents – “Pay-go?”
The pay-as-you-go does not affect the larger spending initiatives of Obama and congress. Discretionary spending is not affected, so that means that 60% of the federal spending will not be affected by this. The way PAYGO works is, if the tax and entitlement legislation is not deficit neutral by the end of the year, then, over a ten year period, a series of cuts kicks in to even this out. Tax revenues rise. Meanwhile, the huge government spending continues outside the scope of PAYGO.
So, while it sounds responsible, PAYGO promises to require taxing to offset expenses (according to the Congressional Budget Office info: “tax revenues would rise from the historical average of 18.3 percent of GDP to a record 23.5 percent by 2050.”) Currently the debt held by the public is at 41% GDP, in ten years it will 82% of GDP. This is much higher that the poor countries of Europe and approximates third world countries (pardon - “developing countries”). We are increasingly moving towards a European style government of that history has shown suffered economic damage due to spending and taxes undermining incentives to produce.
The president smoothly promises a lot of things. He promises we will make up the money we are spending by thousands of jobs in infrastructure, presumably by his three legs of the stool: education, renewable energy and health care. He never says how we are going to do that and he appears to be saving car companies and closing dealerships – thus, losing jobs.
So, no, Obama is again working his magical mirror act on the gullible public. He is making it sound as though this some new concept of his fiscal responsibility while he taxes us in the future and spends money we don’t have regardless of PAYGO.
Rusty, check this out
http://features.csmonitor.com/economyrebuild/2009/06/09/obama-urges-congress-to-pass-spending-limits/
Its from the Christian Science Monitor.
If you care to read it, it expands on your statements about the Presidents initiatives and capabilities.
I find" Christian Science Monitor" to be one of the best sources for responsible, well investigated, and "not-spun(?)" information... bar none.
Cheers
Hi Cracker, I answered your e-mail on my sources, and included charts I had drawn off coverage of Congressional Hearings. Please let me know if you don’t receive it. I checked my gmail right after I sent it and cannot find it in my inbox or sent items. If not, please write to me again and I will re-send.
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