Thread: October budget deficit hits record of $237.2B

Originally Posted by Zarathustra

Just end the Iraq war, and cut spending in general and that won't be necessary.

Easier said than done, the US is going to be in Iraq at least until 2010, and US obligations to the Iraqi government in the manner of direct assistance, a lowered security presence as well as reconstruction funds will persist for at least a significant part of the next decade. Further cutting spending to the DoD might be possible, but due to American commitments overseas and the military's role in international affairs its difficult to make massive cutbacks quickly. Entrenched interest groups as well as the military-industrial complex will make the shift ever more difficult, although I am confident that the Bush increases in DoD spending will eventually be shed as well as some other surplus value from the department.

Cuts can be made in other departments, but tackling entitlements in a signficiant way will be a political hazard as the American electorate seems to be demanding increased government participation in health care as well as other welfare projects as of late. I think reform as well as tapping new sources of revenue, along with eliminating Bush excesses and encouraging fiscal responsbility will be enough in the long term.

Originally Posted by Colin

Easier said than done, the US is going to be in Iraq at least until 2010, and US obligations to the Iraqi government in the manner of direct assistance, a lowered security presence as well as reconstruction funds will persist for at least a significant part of the next decade. Further cutting spending to the DoD might be possible, but due to American commitments overseas and the military's role in international affairs its difficult to make massive cutbacks quickly. Entrenched interest groups as well as the military-industrial complex will make the shift ever more difficult, although I am confident that the Bush increases in DoD spending will eventually be shed as well as some other surplus value from the department.

Cuts can be made in other departments, but tackling entitlements in a signficiant way will be a political hazard as the American electorate seems to be demanding increased government participation in health care as well as other welfare projects as of late. I think reform as well as tapping new sources of revenue, along with eliminating Bush excesses and encouraging fiscal responsbility will be enough in the long term.

Atleast 50,000 troops and 58 military bases will remain in Iraq permanently.

I expect to see deficits climbing for a while. That is "expected", right?

The whole deal is, we gotta begin the long process of payin' back the debt, and we gotta do it NOW.

So like, I'm willing to do my part. I was just talkin' to my wife about this. We're both willing to do our part. If I gotta go back to a 9-5 though, to do my share, then, I want at least healthcare (for the whole family) out of the deal. If I can't get that, then no deal.

See, look - we are in for TOUGH times here. We're talkin', you know, not enough loan money for the farmers to get their seed for the year after, kinda thing. So, here is the deal (and I'm sure the government is well aware of this equation): if they can keep "most" of the people in their homes, and with food and the basic utilities intact, the "rest", I think, most people will tolerate.

If they cross that line, in the roof-food-basics equation, then there are big-time problems. So, right now, they're dealing with the "roof" part. They haven't gotten to the "basics" part yet, that represents mostly consumer credit, and that part is next. Then the food part, well... hopefully things'll never go that far, but if they do, you're looking at probably TWO years out, somethin' like that - so, if it lasts that long, we got TROUBLE.

So, part of the deal here, is to work out of it FAST. Time is of the essence. And the faster we start, the better, and the faster we get it done, the better. We are BLEEDING MONEY in the meantime.

So, man, I've been tryin' to start a business, but if I gotta go, you know, do some kinda computer thing or aerospace thing or somethin', then that's fine, as long as they'll let me make a livin' and make sure my family's got emergency relief should anything happen, then I'm cool with that. I can live with that. I'm a smart guy, I can figure out a way to keep the business goin'.

But see, two WEEKS ago, before the election, I was just about at the point where I was gonna put my foot down and stop payin' taxes, 'cause I mean, I see those m/f's usin' my tax money to TORTURE people, I say, nah pal, there's not enough to go around for that purpose. That is LOW on the list of priorities, and I mean, if my elected officials think otherwise, then they are NOT listening to the American People.

So, if things go smoothly till Jan. 20th, we got no problems. If my government's not on the Peoples' side though, then all bets are off. They run around doin' CRAZY sh*t like torture or what they're tryin' to do to the Swiss right now, man, that is just STUPID stuff, it's brain-dead stupid and it is a COMPLETE waste of tax money, and I mean, that just shows me these clowns are NOT listening.

I really hope SOMEONE's listening, you know, the f'in FBI is out here trollin' these forums or SOMETHIN', cause I mean, I hope a part of their job is to filter all this information up to the people who matter. The "mood of the country" is very important, and there's a LOT of crazy crap floatin' around out there right now (and less than half of it is helpful), so I'm doin' what I can to be an agent of "fractal diffusion". That's my background task, while I figure how what to REALLY do, and how I can best be effective in this whole thing.

Originally Posted by Colin

Eventually federal income tax rates are going to have to rise, along with the expiration of the 2003 Bush tax cuts.

Why not do the smart thing and hold federal spending back to balance the budget?

However, I can't think of any faster way to get the words "Greatest Depression" linked to "Second Black President" than to push Obie into following your suggestion.

Go for it.

Originally Posted by Colin

Those are unfunded future obligations, they are separate from current budgetary realities like the federal debt or annual deficit. By including them you are including future projections over the next 70 years in a contemporary analysis of the government's fiscal responsibilities, assuming a policy standstill for the next several decades without reform or substantial budgetary shifts. Undoubtedly unfunded future entitlements in the vein of social security and Medicare are very real and must be on the table for discussion to be addressed, but they cannot be included in statements regarding the US's federal debt as of 2008.

Wrong. The money collected today for those "future obligations" was counted as current revenue to offset the current expenditures and that's how the imaginary (you do know the word is synonymous for "non-existent", right) "surplus" could be shown.

And you people haven't demanded the criminals responsible for that "surplus" get indicted and put in jail.

In fact, you allowed those Democrats to go back to Congress where they could work their "magic" on the banking industry.

Originally Posted by nonsqtr

I expect to see deficits climbing for a while. That is "expected", right?

The whole deal is, we gotta begin the long process of payin' back the debt, and we gotta do it NOW.

So like, I'm willing to do my part. I was just talkin' to my wife about this. We're both willing to do our part. If I gotta go back to a 9-5 though, to do my share, then, I want at least healthcare (for the whole family) out of the deal. If I can't get that, then no deal.

See, look - we are in for TOUGH times here. We're talkin', you know, not enough loan money for the farmers to get their seed for the year after, kinda thing. So, here is the deal (and I'm sure the government is well aware of this equation): if they can keep "most" of the people in their homes, and with food and the basic utilities intact, the "rest", I think, most people will tolerate.

If they cross that line, in the roof-food-basics equation, then there are big-time problems. So, right now, they're dealing with the "roof" part. They haven't gotten to the "basics" part yet, that represents mostly consumer credit, and that part is next. Then the food part, well... hopefully things'll never go that far, but if they do, you're looking at probably TWO years out, somethin' like that - so, if it lasts that long, we got TROUBLE.

So, part of the deal here, is to work out of it FAST. Time is of the essence. And the faster we start, the better, and the faster we get it done, the better. We are BLEEDING MONEY in the meantime.

So, man, I've been tryin' to start a business, but if I gotta go, you know, do some kinda computer thing or aerospace thing or somethin', then that's fine, as long as they'll let me make a livin' and make sure my family's got emergency relief should anything happen, then I'm cool with that. I can live with that. I'm a smart guy, I can figure out a way to keep the business goin'.

But see, two WEEKS ago, before the election, I was just about at the point where I was gonna put my foot down and stop payin' taxes, 'cause I mean, I see those m/f's usin' my tax money to TORTURE people, I say, nah pal, there's not enough to go around for that purpose. That is LOW on the list of priorities, and I mean, if my elected officials think otherwise, then they are NOT listening to the American People.

So, if things go smoothly till Jan. 20th, we got no problems. If my government's not on the Peoples' side though, then all bets are off. They run around doin' CRAZY sh*t like torture or what they're tryin' to do to the Swiss right now, man, that is just STUPID stuff, it's brain-dead stupid and it is a COMPLETE waste of tax money, and I mean, that just shows me these clowns are NOT listening.

I really hope SOMEONE's listening, you know, the f'in FBI is out here trollin' these forums or SOMETHIN', cause I mean, I hope a part of their job is to filter all this information up to the people who matter. The "mood of the country" is very important, and there's a LOT of crazy crap floatin' around out there right now (and less than half of it is helpful), so I'm doin' what I can to be an agent of "fractal diffusion". That's my background task, while I figure how what to REALLY do, and how I can best be effective in this whole thing.

I'm working to keep my own "roof" up, why should my money be stolen to keep someone else's roof up, when I didn't have any say in their loan?

You want "fiscal responsibility"? Fine. That means the government doesn't spend money on things the Constitution doesn't allow. And almost nothing the left feels is allowed by Constitution actually is.

People pay for their own "roofs", they pay for their own "basics", and their own "food", and if Farmer Bob can't buy seed grain, he can sell his business to someone who can, because it's not right to steal money from someone to keep him knee deep in seed.

If you don't like that, quit whining about the natural process of socialism destroying society.

Originally Posted by Colin

Cuts can be made in other departments, but tackling entitlements in a signficiant way will be a political hazard as the American electorate seems to be demanding increased government participation in health care as well as other welfare projects as of late.

I can show 'em how to fix healthcare. Really. Piece o' cake. It'll piss people OFF, and it'll lose a few JOBS, but it'll FIX THE PROBLEM. The real question is, does anyone have the political guts to do it.

Originally Posted by Colin

I think reform as well as tapping new sources of revenue, along with eliminating Bush excesses and encouraging fiscal responsbility will be enough in the long term.

WRONG ANSWER!

NO more "new sources of revenue", pal. NO more. The guvmint has SO many f'in sources of revenue, they do not NEED any more.

NO more revenue for these clowns. PERIOD. They're gonna have to deal with what they've GOT. Haven't we given them more than enough already?

What's your tax rate? 30%? How much do YOU have left, after withholding, and FICA, and all the rest of that crap that comes off there?

Pal, "tapping new sources of revenue", is EXACTLY WHAT'S GETTING US IN TROUBLE!!!

That's the one thing, we DON'T want to do!!!

My friend - the WHOLE reason the government behaves the way it does, is 'cause every time they want a new source of revenue, they GET ONE!

NO more "new sources of revenue" for these clowns. The only way to LIMIT the Powers these weasels think they have, is to LIMIT their revenue.

Money is power, pal. It's a way of getting Power, WITHOUT going through channels.

Look AROUND, my friend. We just had a Supreme Court decision that said it was "okay" for the federal government to use MONEY as a club against the States. Hey, pal - that is NOT in the Constitution. I NEVER gave 'em permission to do somethin' like that. These f'in *ssholes are pulling imaginary Powers out of their BUTTS, is what's happenin'.....

Nah, pal, NO MORE REVENUE for these clowns. They have to learn to live within their means, just like you and I do. Now that Bush the Torturer is gone, I'll start payin' my taxes again (AFTER January 20th, if you know what I mean) - but I'm not supportin' any "new sources of revenue". NO WAY.

That's the WHOLE POINT, son. Those clowns in Weaselton, they brought this upon themselves, and they have to LEARN, to CHANGE the way they do business.

That's part of the CHANGE, my friend.