U.S. already $292 bln in the red this year - CBO

[Denny Crane]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0418093920091204

U.S. already $292 bln in the red this year - CBO
Fri, Dec 4 2009

WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. government racked up a gaping shortfall in the first two months of this fiscal year after posting a record budget deficit last year, congressional analysts said on Friday.

In October and November, the government spent $292 billion more than it took in, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said.

That was even worse than the same period last year, when the government was on its way to posting a record $1.4 trillion deficit for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

The federal budget has been battered by the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, as tax revenues have plunged and spending on safety-net programs like unemployment insurance have skyrocketed.

The budget deficit was $176.4 billion in October, according to Treasury Department records, and the CBO estimated the deficit for November will have come in at $115 billion.

The CBO gave its figures in billions of dollars and said numbers may not add up to the totals because of rounding.

Receipts totaled $132 billion in November, the CBO estimated, down 9 percent from the same month last year. That was partly due to new legislation that gives increased tax write-offs to corporations.

Outlays were down $23 billion from a year earlier, the CBO estimated, as the government spent less on federal programs to stem the financial crisis. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by John O'Callaghan) ((andy.sullivan@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 898 8391; Reuters Messaging: andy.sullivan.reuters.com@reuters.net))

 

[Denny Crane]

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9CF8SIO0&show_article=1

New Obama plans: 'spend our way out' of downturn

Dec 8 01:35 PM US/Eastern
By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama outlined new multibillion-dollar stimulus and jobs proposals Tuesday, saying the nation must continue to "spend our way out of this recession" until more Americans are back at work.

Without giving a price tag, Obama proposed a package of new spending for highway, bridge and other infrastructure projects, deeper tax breaks for small businesses and tax incentives to encourage people to make their homes more energy efficient.

"We avoided the depression many feared," Obama said in a speech at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. But, he added, "Our work is far from done."

For the third time in a week, Obama sought to focus on job creation, noting that the unemployment rate was still at 10 percent in November, though down slightly from its 10.2 percent peak. He said "a staggering" 7 million Americans have lost jobs since the recession began two years ago.

While his proposal did not include the kind of direct federal public works jobs that were created in the 1930s, he said government could set the stage for more job creation by private businesses.

A major part of his package is new incentives for small businesses, which account for two-thirds of the nation's work force. He proposed a new tax cut for small businesses that hire in 2010 and an elimination for one year of the capital gains tax on profits from small-business investments.

Obama also proposed an elimination of fees on loans to small businesses, coupled with federal guarantees of those loans through the end of next year.

He called for more government spending on infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and water projects and for new tax breaks for consumers who invest in energy-efficient retrofits in their homes. This could be what some administration officials have called a "Cash for Caulkers" program modeled on the now-expired Cash for Clunkers program of tax rebates for people who turned in old cars for more fuel-efficient models.

The administration also is eyeing ways to get money still not spent in the $787 billion stimulus bill passed last winter into projects more quickly.

Obama did not characterize his new proposals as another stimulus program like that mammoth measure, but Republican critics have called it just that and have said it will increase a federal deficit that is already at a record level.

Obama included sharp criticism for Republicans in his speech, accusing them of opposing economic stimulus efforts and his health care overhaul while supporting tax cuts and spending that have ballooned the deficit.

He said that soon after taking office, he and congressional Democrats took "a series of difficult steps" to try to stabilize the financial system and pull the economy out of a deep recession.

"And we were forced to take those steps largely without the help of an opposition party which, unfortunately, after having presided over the decision-making that led to the crisis, decided to hand it to others to solve."

Obama did not say how much his proposals would cost, although congressional Democrats are eyeing a $70 billion package to help create jobs and to provide aid to hard-pressed state and local governments. Administration aides suggested that the part of the package dealing with roads, bridges and other infrastructure could total about $50 billion.

While acknowledging increasing concerns in Congress and among the public over the nation's growing debt, Obama said critics present a "false choice" between paying down deficits and investing in job creation and economic growth.

To pay for the new programs, the administration is citing the Treasury Department's report on Monday that it expects to get back $200 billion in taxpayer-approved bank bailout funds faster than expected.

Obama suggested this windfall would both help the government spend money on job creation while also paying down the nation's debt, which now totals $12 trillion.

Obama called the bank bailout, under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), "galling."

"There has rarely been a less loved—or more necessary—emergency program," Obama said. The program is expected to go out of business at the end of this year unless extended by Congress.

Since the program is costing taxpayers at least $200 billion less than expected, Obama said, "This gives us a chance to pay down the deficit faster than we thought possible and to shift funds that would have gone to help the banks on Wall Street to help create jobs on Main Street."

But Republicans continued to insist that the leftover and repaid TARP money must be used exclusively for deficit reduction and not for a new jobs program.

"The president's announcement is further proof that TARP has morphed from an emergency injection of liquidity to thaw frozen credit markets into a $700 billion revolving slush fund to promote the Democrats' political, social and economic agenda," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas.

Obama said he is backing the measures he outlined because they "will generate the greatest number of jobs while generating the greatest value for our economy."

"These targeted initiatives are right, and they are needed," he said.

 

[Sug]

Ronald The 2nd

 

[Denny Crane]

So the banks took the TARP money and bought other banks and now are rolling in the profits enough to pay it back. I say pay down the debt. The plans Obama proposes in the 2nd article just aren't worth spending $.10 on. The least we can do is provide a little less burden on the next generations.

 

[Denny Crane]

Ronald The 2nd

Heh.

Reagan's biggest budget deficit was about the same as 2 months' worth these days.

The thing is, we're still paying interest on the dollars borrowed then, just as we will be on the $trillions borrowed now.

 

[Denny Crane]

In related news...

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124610/Brief-Uptick-Obama-Approval-Slips.aspx

After Brief Uptick, Obama Approval Slips to 47%
New low follows slight increase after announcement of Afghanistan policy
by Jeffrey M. Jones

PRINCETON, NJ -- Barack Obama's presidential job approval rating is 47% in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update, a new low for his administration to date. His approval rating has been below 50% for much of the time since mid-November, but briefly rose to 52% last week after he announced his new Afghanistan policy.

Any slight bump in support Obama received coincident with his new Afghanistan policy proved to be very short-lived, as his approval rating returned to below the majority level by the weekend, and slipped further to 47% in Dec. 4-6 polling.

 

[MARIS61]

Heh.

Reagan's biggest budget deficit was about the same as 2 months' worth these days.

The thing is, we're still paying interest on the dollars borrowed then, just as we will be on the $trillions borrowed now.

No, Clinton's policies paid off Reagan's debt.

We're paying interest and principal on Bush's debt.

 

[Denny Crane]

No, Clinton's policies paid off Reagan's debt.

We're paying interest and principal on Bush's debt.

No, Clinton's policies did not pay off Reagan's debt.

A balanced budget and paying off the debt are very different things. Besides, the debt would always grow no matter what the surplus is, as long as there's a surplus in SS.

Bush's debt? $500B/year for 8 years is $4T, while the debt is $13T.

 

[MARIS61]

It's not like we actually ever have to pay it back. Other countries never repay our loans.

Most of it is owed to China, our enemy in many ways and Earth's enemy in many more.

Fuck China.

 

[MARIS61]

No, Clinton's policies did not pay off Reagan's debt.

A balanced budget and paying off the debt are very different things. Besides, the debt would always grow no matter what the surplus is, as long as there's a surplus in SS.

Bush's debt? $500B/year for 8 years is $4T, while the debt is $13T.

A balanced budget and a budget surplus/zero deficit are very different things.

Clinton administration left a record surplus for Bush, which Bush spent/embezzled in addition to the record deficit he left for Obama. You forgot to add the compounded interest on Bush's debt, and the snowball effect it has had on destroying our economy.

Decades from now they will still be adding up the economic damage Bush's policies did worldwide. Add to that the damage being done now by stonewalling Republican politicians who refuse to allow Obama to stop the bleeding.

The Bush/Cheney gang will live in infamy as America's greatest traitors.

 

[Denny Crane]

A balanced budget and a budget surplus/zero deficit are very different things.

Clinton administration left a record surplus for Bush, which Bush spent/embezzled in addition to the record deficit he left for Obama. You forgot to add the compounded interest on Bush's debt, and the snowball effect it has had on destroying our economy.

Decades from now they will still be adding up the economic damage Bush's policies did worldwide. Add to that the damage being done now by stonewalling Republican politicians who refuse to allow Obama to stop the bleeding.

The Bush/Cheney gang will live in infamy as America's greatest traitors.

The Clinton surplus were budgets written by republicans (John Kasich to be precise) while he was saying things like "we can balance the budget in 7 years" and next week he said "we can balance the budget in 9 years" and next week he said "we can balance the budget in 4 years."

That is a matter of the public record.

Aside from that, the record surplus was accomplished by taxing peoples' life savings in the form of capital gains on assets that were vastly inflated in price. A bubble.

When the bubble burst (dot bomb), the surpluses went away. Imagine that.

 

[Sug]

Here is an interesting comparison between Ronald (red) and Obama (blue). Link

 

[Denny Crane]

Yes it is interesting. Both made the economy worse in their first year in office, though Reagan explained why while Obama said it wouldn't be this bad if only we spent $800B on pork.

Also interesting is this blog:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/12/sarah-palin-barack-obama-poll-gap-narrows.html

Shocker polls: That Sarah Palin-Barack Obama gap melts to 1 point

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy, look what the pollsters just brought in.

A pair of new surveys revealing that President Obama is still declining and has hit a new low in job approval among Americans just 56 weeks after they elected him with a decided margin.

And -- wait for it -- Republican Sarah Palin is successfully selling a whole lot more than books out there on the road. Even among those not lining up in 10-degree weather to catch a glimpse of pretty much the only political celebrity the GOP has these days.

First, el jefe. Facing double-digit unemployment, rising spending, deficits and Afghan war casualties plus a keystone but stalled healthcare reform effort that caused a rare Sunday presidential visit to Capitol Hill, Obama recently fell below 50% job approval for the first time.

Then, last week's deft dance of rhetoric over sending reinforcements to Afghanistan but, on the other foot, bringing them home quickly maybe gave him a brief boost. That, however, collapsed with equal rapidity.

Obama's new Gallup Poll job approval number is 47%. Last month it was 53%.

Regular Ticket readers will recall how in this space in late November we pointed out that Obama's closely watched job approval slide was coinciding with Palin's little-noticed rise in favorability. And it appeared they might cross somewhere in the 40s.

Well, ex-Sen. Obama, meet ex-Gov. Palin.

The new CNN/Opinion Research Poll shows Palin now at 46% favorable, just one point below her fellow basketball fan.

(The same poll, btw, has bad news for Dick Cheney-haters; the outspoken former VP has climbed out of the 29% basement, back up to 39% now. How do you suppose he's done that without a new book? But that's another story.)

Not that either Palin or Obama will admit caring about such trivial things as disparate political polls....

...1,071 days before the 2012 election, when Republicans will have the concept of change on their side. Obama's camp is already using the looming Palin pall as a fundraising tool. Never let any potential threat go unmonetized.

The new numbers seem to indicate that despite oft-cited predictions about the dire impact of Palin resigning her Alaska governor's job in July, a lot of people who don't live in Alaska (and, come to think of it, most people don't live in Alaska) don't seem to care. She wasn't their governor then and she still isn't.

Palin's low favorable poll point of 39% came right after the midsummer resignation and she's been slowly climbing since, fueled by media attention, eager reader response over her book contents, her tour and the spontaneous outpouring of support at her carefully-calculated bus stops along the way -- 31 appearances in 25 states, many of them politically crucial.

Imagine what critics would be saying now if Palin was neglecting her elected Juneau job to sell books in the Lower 48 and talk to an elite club of Washington journalists, if there is such a thing.

The view, Palin told the capital's Gridiron Club Saturday night in her self-deprecating and at times pointed remarks (full text right here), is a whole lot better from inside the bus than from under it.


Palin critics -- and, by golly, there still are some, believe it or not -- say that she's a polarizing political figure.

And they're dead-on correct: 46% like her (including eight of 10 Republicans), 46% don't (including seven of 10 Democrats) and only 8% are undecided (no doubt including many who've been living underground since John McCain unveiled his VP GOP running mate in Dayton, Ohio, some15 months ago).

But here's the fascinating, little-noticed catch:

The very same polarization now holds true for Obama, the fresh fellow from the old Chicago Democratic machine who was supposed to bring hope and change to a nation tired of divisive politics and the harsh partisan tone of Washington.

Fully 83% of Democrats approve of him, but only 14% of Republicans do.

Among independents, who provided the crucial winning boost for the Democratic ticket in November 2008, Obama's support has melted to 42% today, in large part over immense spending and deficit concerns.

And as political veteran Dave Cook points out over on the Vote blog, just since last month, 3% of Obama's own Democrats have abandoned his ship, another 4% of Republicans and fully 7% of independents.

Other recent polls have shown Republicans leading for the first time this year on the generic congressional ballot and self-identified Republicans closing the gap with self-identified Democrats.

Meanwhile, Palin continued her book/celebrity sales tour across the heartland, stopping Sunday in -- oh, look! -- Iowa. "No politician comes to Iowa by accident," Republican strategist Tim Albrecht told AP's Mike Glover.

More significantly, Palin was in western Iowa, which is ruled by the Republican Party, which in the Hawkeye state these days is ruled by conservative evangelicals, who form a large chunk of Palin's evolving base. As another ex-governor, Mitt Romney, learned to his dismay in the 2008 GOP caucuses won by another ex-governor (and Baptist preacher), Mike Huckabee.

Obviously, not every politician visiting Iowa each election cycle ends up running for president. And not every Iowa winner collects the big prize. But no one gets to the White House without going to Iowa. Which Palin has now done on her own. Purportedly selling a book.

-- Andrew Malcolm

 

[Denny Crane]

The key bits of the above, to me:

Among independents, who provided the crucial winning boost for the Democratic ticket in November 2008, Obama's support has melted to 42% today, in large part over immense spending and deficit concerns.

And as political veteran Dave Cook points out over on the Vote blog, just since last month, 3% of Obama's own Democrats have abandoned his ship, another 4% of Republicans and fully 7% of independents.

Other recent polls have shown Republicans leading for the first time this year on the generic congressional ballot and self-identified Republicans closing the gap with self-identified Democrats.

I don't believe people will remain behind Obama if he insists on pushing agenda items that aren't in line with the vast majority of peoples' values. He'll get a lot of support from his own party until the bitter end, but it will continue to erode outside of a rather small base. That Palin is even considered a competitor with Obama for peoples' mindshare must mean something.

I have my own idea of what "something" it is.

 

[Sug]

The key bits of the above, to me:



I don't believe people will remain behind Obama if he insists on pushing agenda items that aren't in line with the vast majority of peoples' values. He'll get a lot of support from his own party until the bitter end, but it will continue to erode outside of a rather small base. That Palin is even considered a competitor with Obama for peoples' mindshare must mean something.

I have my own idea of what "something" it is.

She is a lot like Qyntel Woods, good in summer league and dumb as a post.

 

[maxiep]

She is a lot like Qyntel Woods, good in summer league and dumb as a post.

President Obama is certainly smarter than Sarah Palin, but not as smart as he thinks he is.

 

[Denny Crane]

My idea of what "something" is... is...

People want anything but what we have now. Even Palin looks like a viable alternative.

Get that, Democrats and fix it if you can.