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[goodcow]

Deficit falls
The projected federal budget deficit has decreased by nearly $100 billion thanks to unexpected increases in tax payments, the White House announced. Rising corporate profits, up 40 percent over 2004, provided most of the extra money. The deficit is now expected to reach $333 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, down from last year's record shortfall of $412 billion.
THE WEEK July 22, 2005, p. 6

 

[Jeffahn]

Must have passed 'GO' and collected $200.

...

 

[Escape Goat]

Does the deficit even matter anymore? Its just a number. Our economy has grown around it that if it were to disappear it would cause alot of damage to the world economy as well as our own.

 

[olimario]

YAY!
Down to a shitload from a slightly larger shitload.
Even or surplus is a cause for celebration, not this.

 

[Tarazet]

You know your country sucks when...

 

[goodcow]

You know your country sucks when...

Only in America
An unisured Florida man was so desperate for free health care that he robbed a bank so he'd be sent to jail. Ex-con Frank Nesbitt, 60, figured that a conviction for robbery would send him back to federal prison just long enough to get some vital medical treatment. "I regret having to do this," began Nesbitt in his note to the bank teller. "I intend to immediately give the money to whoever arrests me outside." A judge sentenced him to 16 months in a much less comfortable state prison.
THE WEEK July 22, 2005, p. 6

 

[Tarazet]

Only in America
An unisured Florida man was so desperate for free health care that he robbed a bank so he'd be sent to jail. Ex-con Frank Nesbitt, 60, figured that a conviction for robbery would send him back to federal prison just long enough to get some vital medical treatment. "I regret having to do this," began Nesbitt in his note to the bank teller. "I intend to immediately give the money to whoever arrests me outside." A judge sentenced him to 16 months in a much less comfortable state prison.
THE WEEK July 22, 2005, p. 6

Nah, that's cool, because he didn't get what he wanted.

 

[maharg]

Does the deficit even matter anymore? Its just a number. Our economy has grown around it that if it were to disappear it would cause alot of damage to the world economy as well as our own.

a US budget deficit does not help the world economy. Maybe you're thinking of the trade deficit? A budget deficit is a constant drain on the efficiency of a government.

 

[Escape Goat]

Oh, oops. Reading is fundamental LOL

 

[bionic77]

I can't believe Bush got rid of the surplus so easily.

 

[MrAngryFace]

War costs money, especially when you have fewer troops. Gotta use the tech, which costs money. Not saying I agree, I just understand.

 

[bionic77]

War costs money, especially when you have fewer troops. Gotta use the tech, which costs money. Not saying I agree, I just understand.

We had a deficit before the war. They were dying to get rid of that surplus and convert it into a tax break as soon as they got into office.

 

[MrAngryFace]

regardless of whether we had it before or not, it affects us nonetheless. Just saying its a factor.

 

[bionic77]

regardless of whether we had it before or not, it affects us nonetheless. Just saying its a factor.

No doubt, wars aren't cheap. We need to start outsourcing our war effots to cut down on costs. We can just get Indian labor and tell them to start using American names. It worked wonders for the tech support industry.

 

[MrAngryFace]

Haha, whats scary is that I could imagine something so outlandish in my minds eye.

 

[Mandark]

When I read the headline "Iran Invaded by US Via Indian Engineers, Mexican Day Labor," I'm quitting this forum.

 

[retardboy]

We had a deficit before the war. They were dying to get rid of that surplus and convert it into a tax break as soon as they got into office.

Well there were other factors like... Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, and Adelphia that attributed to that. Those killed our economy.

 

[bionic77]

Well there were other factors like... Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, and Adelphia that attributed to that. Those killed our economy.

That contributed to it, but the reason we have a deficit is because Bush cut taxes. This isn't hard people.

Whether you think it was a good call or not to reduce taxes that is another issue, but lets not skirt around the issue.

 

[Boogie]

Haha, whats scary is that I could imagine something so outlandish in my minds eye.

It's not really that outlandish at all, actually. That's basically how Britain fought its wars in the 17th and early 18th centuries.

 

[bionic77]

It's not really that outlandish at all, actually. That's basically how Britain fought its wars in the 17th and early 18th centuries.

Did they make them pretend that their names were Mary and Bob though?

 

[Boogie]

Did they make them pretend that their names were Mary and Bob though?

Well, no, I don't imagine they did that.

 

[retardboy]

That contributed to it, but the reason we have a deficit is because Bush cut taxes. This isn't hard people.

Whether you think it was a good call or not to reduce taxes that is another issue, but lets not skirt around the issue.

Well the tax cuts were trying to boost the economy from those above issues and they did their job.

 

[bionic77]

Well the tax cuts were trying to boost the economy from those above issues and they did their job.

You keep telling yourself that and one day it will turn out to be true.

 

[Drensch]

FYI those defict numbers are quite full of shit. The war in Iraq and Afgahnistan aren't included.

 

[Incognito]

FYI those defict numbers are quite full of shit. The war in Iraq and Afgahnistan aren't included.

Yup.

 

[Mandark]

1) Corporate profits are up 40%? While overall economic growth would be up, what, about 3%? Bleh. Reminds me of:

(April of last year)

2) I think bioinic's right that the tax cuts are the main thing. During the last Clinton years federal tax receipts were about three or four percent more of the GDP than they are these days. I'm pretty sure that means that the Clinton-era taxes would result in a surplus right now.

3) MAF's right that the war adds a pretty big chunk to the deficits, but Drensch is probably right that it's not even included in this. I'm really hoping they did include the stuff this time, but not holding my breath.

4) I really don't think a huge deficit and continuing unemployment was what they were going for when they passed the tax cuts. The economy always has a recovery period after a recession, so it's silly to wait for the recovery and say "A-ha, it worked!" Especially since this is kind of a weak recovery.

5) The defecit doesn't have to be bad. Since a government keeps going forever, it never has to pay back the original loans. But a deficit that grows faster than the economy is a bad thing, because... um, I forget why. Since, you know, I don't actually know anything about economics except what I steal from Max Sawicky and Brad DeLong, then pretend I'm an authority and post pictures of other people's charts...

So, how bout them sepoys?

 

[Shinobi]

When I read the headline "Iran Invaded by US Via Indian Engineers, Mexican Day Labor," I'm quitting this forum.

:lol

 

[MetatronM]

Not to mention a smaller annual deficit than expected isn't much to get excited about anyway. It still means that the national debt gets BIGGER. Just not quite as big as it was expected.

 

[APF]

No doubt, wars aren't cheap. We need to start outsourcing our war effots to cut down on costs. We can just get Indian labor and tell them to start using American names. It worked wonders for the tech support industry.

I understand the joke you're trying to make here, but we already do outsource a lot of our "war effort" services (it tends to be to America-based companies however).

 

[fortified_concept]

The rich are getting richer, the poor are gettin poorer, the deficit goes down. What a wonderful, wonderful world.

 

[siamesedreamer]

I can't believe Bush got rid of the surplus so easily.

Holy Jesus. Do you fall hook, line, and sinker for every DEM myth out there or just this one? The fact of the matter is that the stock market peaked in March of 2000 when Clinton was still in office. The surplus was larely based on the taxation of dividends that people were making a killing on in the late 90's as a direct result of the tech boom. The stock market going into the tank from March 2000 on is what killed the surplus - not Bush's tax cuts (although they certainly didn't make things any better in the short run). The tax cuts were necesarry to get the economy rolling again, but I think they did go too far in some respects and I don't think they should be made permanent.

 

[milanbaros]

Is this cumulative as in if the tax revenues were $100bn more than expenses would there be a surplus next year or would there be a deficit of $233bn?

I fail to see what the big deal is. There is no pay day, no day of reckoning. So long as the economy is growing it doesn't matter.

 

[maharg]

Is this cumulative as in if the tax revenues were $100bn more than expenses would there be a surplus next year or would there be a deficit of $233bn?

I fail to see what the big deal is. There is no pay day, no day of reckoning. So long as the economy is growing it doesn't matter.

Deficit is a negative difference between revenue and expenses over a set period (usually 1 year). The accumulation of deficit is called debt, which for the US currently stands at about $7 trillion.

 

[Triumph]

That contributed to it, but the reason we have a deficit is because Bush cut taxes. This isn't hard people.

Whether you think it was a good call or not to reduce taxes that is another issue, but lets not skirt around the issue.

yeah, but I got my $300 check. Who gives a shit about anything else, right? RIGHT?

Oh yeah, I bought a hammock with it. Life is good!

 

[Phoenix]

Corporate profits up 40%, unemployment up and companies still shedding thousands of employees to keep their profits up at the same time as payrolls are going down. Yeah - this does indeed make sense.

 

[bionic77]

Holy Jesus. Do you fall hook, line, and sinker for every DEM myth out there or just this one? The fact of the matter is that the stock market peaked in March of 2000 when Clinton was still in office. The surplus was larely based on the taxation of dividends that people were making a killing on in the late 90's as a direct result of the tech boom. The stock market going into the tank from March 2000 on is what killed the surplus - not Bush's tax cuts (although they certainly didn't make things any better in the short run). The tax cuts were necesarry to get the economy rolling again, but I think they did go too far in some respects and I don't think they should be made permanent.

Didn't Bush start campaigning on providing a tax cut before the recession even occured. The tax cut didn't seem to make the economy recover any faster than it would have without it. I mean it took years for us to recover even after the tax cut, for a measure that is at best a short term fix it didn't seem to have much effect.

 

[Drensch]

The tax cuts account for about 300+ or so billion per year. So they are in the neighborhood of 70-100% of deficit.

 

[Particle Physicist]

Only in America
An unisured Florida man was so desperate for free health care that he robbed a bank so he'd be sent to jail. Ex-con Frank Nesbitt, 60, figured that a conviction for robbery would send him back to federal prison just long enough to get some vital medical treatment. "I regret having to do this," began Nesbitt in his note to the bank teller. "I intend to immediately give the money to whoever arrests me outside." A judge sentenced him to 16 months in a much less comfortable state prison.
THE WEEK July 22, 2005, p. 6

hey, thats actually quite reasonable. the guys didnt hurt anyone, and he didnt intend to keep/use the money. much better than the guy that tried to kill someone for similar reasons.

 

[siamesedreamer]

Corporate profits up 40%, unemployment up and companies still shedding thousands of employees to keep their profits up at the same time as payrolls are going down. Yeah - this does indeed make sense.

Wrong. Unemployment rates are back down to the best numbers under Clinton.

 

[Phoenix]

Wrong. Unemployment rates are back down to the best numbers under Clinton.

Wrong

http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/08/news/economy/jobs_june/

 

[milanbaros]

Whats the problem with a huge deficit?

 

[Iceman]

"efficiency of a government."

roofles.

 

[siamesedreamer]

Well, not exactly Clintonesque. However, its absolutely incorrect to say that unemployment is up.

 

[ronito]

So the rich got a whole lot richer and everyone else just a tiny bit richer. Yay???

 

[milanbaros]

Clinton managed to keep the debt in check but it seems as though Bush is letting it loose but still not up to dangerous levels.

 

[Phoenix]

Well, not exactly Clintonesque. However, its absolutely incorrect to say that unemployment is up.

If its above some previous point - then it IS absolutely correct to say that unemployment is up. It would be the VERY DEFINITION of unemployment being up!

 

[siamesedreamer]

If its above some previous point

OK, whatever.

You're saying that an unusual time period of cyclical unemployment rates bouyed by a stock market that was on steriods because of an unusual peak in business creation because of the internet should be compared to a time period of cyclical unemployment rates when those same businesses failed and the most devastating terrorist attack on the US soil occured?

Clinton was the beneficiary of unimaginable economic growth because of the defeat of the USSR, the untested internet market, and Reaganomics coming into play. Period.

 

[Phoenix]

OK, whatever.

You're saying that an unusual time period of cyclical unemployment rates bouyed by a stock market that was on steriods because of an unusual peak in business creation because of the internet should be compared to a time period of cyclical unemployment rates when those same businesses failed and the most devastating terrorist attack on the US soil occured?

Clinton was the beneficiary of unimaginable economic growth because of the defeat of the USSR, the untested internet market, and Reaganomics coming into play. Period.

Save your Bush vs Clinton rant for someone else - I could give a rats ass who is at the helm, I'm only concerned with the results.

 

[ronito]

Save your Bush vs Clinton rant for someone else - I could give a rats ass who is at the helm, I'm only concerned with the results.

The man speaks truth!

 

[siamesedreamer]

unemployment up........

Your analysis of results sux..... :lol