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| Subject: And now the budget deficit is soaring... | |
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Author: jw |
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Date Posted: 19:51:24 03/13/08 Thu In reply to: Bev 's message, "at last a rep admits they were wrong on deregulation ." on 14:46:43 03/13/08 Thu Government revenues have fallen for the last 2 months, and by 12% in february, this is not merely a catastrophe, this is an economic katrina! The deficit figures probably do not include the debt for the wars, which is something like 140 billion, so the projections of a 400 billion dollar fed deficit is really 540 billion, it is a good bet these projections will be exceeded as the economy collapses more than originally projected. Soon the federal deficit will reach new record levels, along with all the other records that the bush administration has to it's credit, and they are not the kind of records to be proud of! Federal budget deficit widens to monthly record in February Revenue fell 12.1%, spending increased 17.1% in February FROM TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICES March 13, 2008 WASHINGTON - The federal government budget deficit widened to a monthly record $175.6 billion in February, as a weakening economy reduced tax revenue for the second consecutive month. Revenue last month fell 12.1 percent, while spending increased 17.1 percent, the Treasury said Wednesday. The shortfall was bigger than the $170 billion deficit economists had forecast and compares with the previous record of $120 billion in February of last year. The collapse of the housing market and increased odds of a recession are reducing tax revenue, contributing to the first widening of the annual budget deficit in four years. Last month, President Bush signed a $168 billion economic-growth package that will worsen the fiscal outlook later this year. "It's safe to say corporate tax receipts are going to be down this year," said Bill Jordan, chief economist at Ried Thunberg & Co. in Westport, Conn. "The weakening economy will make that certain." The shortfall in receipts was exacerbated by an extra day in February because of the leap year that boosted tax refunds, swelling the deficit by $14.6 billion, the Treasury said. Because March 1 fell on a weekend, payments that the government would ordinarily have made in March were instead made at the end of February. That caused spending to be higher in February, contributing to the larger budget deficit. "Some of this will be reversed in March," Jordan said. The Bush administration projects this year's deficit will rise to a near-record $410 billion, in part because of the stimulus plan, after a $162.8 billion gap last year. Revenue last month dropped to $105.7 billion from $120.3 billion in February 2007. It also fell 58.6 percent from January, the biggest monthly decline since May 2001. Spending increased to $281.3 billion from $240.3 billion a year ago, as payments for Social Security and the military climbed. Spending since the fiscal year started Oct. 1 was up 10.2 percent, to $1.23 trillion, while revenue increased 1.3 percent, to $967.2 billion. That left the year-to-date budget deficit at $263.3 billion, up 62 percent from $162.2 billion in the same period in the last fiscal year. So far this budget year, the biggest spending categories are programs from the Health and Human Services Department, including Medicare and Medicaid, $292.9 billion; Social Security, $270.5 billion; military, $247.6 billion; and interest on the public debt, $198.5 billion. Federal revenue grew an average of 8.6 percent in each of the past four years, helping cut the deficit in fiscal 2007 to $162.8 billion, the smallest in five years. The Congressional Budget Office is projecting a $396 billion deficit for the current fiscal year, 143 percent larger than the shortfall in 2007. The U.S. posted a record $413 billion deficit in 2004. > >href="http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/paulsons-la >ment-deregulation-has-been/story.aspx?guid=%7B4AEF15AC% >2D3966%2D4656%2D8108%2DC96712A88D68%7D">http://www.mark >etwatch.com/news/story/paulsons-lament-deregulation-has >-been/story.aspx?guid=%7B4AEF15AC%2D3966%2D4656%2D8108% >2DC96712A88D68%7D > >MARKETWATCH FIRST TAKE >Paulson admits deregulation has failed us all >Commentary: Mortgage proposals spell end to decades of >looking other way >By MarketWatch >Last update: 1:00 p.m. EDT March 13, 2008Print E-mail >RSS Disable Live Quotes >WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- You know things are very >very bad on Wall Street when a guy like Henry Paulson >-- Treasury secretary, solid Republican, and former >Goldman Sachs CEO -- joins the crowd calling for more >regulation over the financial markets. >Paulson spared no one in his criticism Thursday of the >excesses of deregulation that has now created the >worst global financial crisis in a generation, >threatening the health of the U.S. economy, the >savings of millions of Americans, and the survival of >some of the biggest financial institutions in the >world. See full story. >Wall Street and Washington both failed big time, he >said. Wall Street invented new ways to make money by >selling securities so complicated that no one could >really follow which shell the pea was under. Fortunes >were made on the paper Wall Street sold. >At the same time, Washington's watchdogs were dozing, >tranquilized by the false assurance that Wall Street >would police its own. >It's been obvious for years now that Wall Street could >not be trusted, and finally official Washington >agrees. The markets need a tougher cop to make sure >that money-center banks, investment banks, >credit-rating agencies, hedge funds, mortgage brokers >and the rest don't let their own greed and arrogance >ruin it for the rest of us. >"Regulation needs to catch up with innovation," >Paulson said, and he was backed up by the rest of >President Bush's working group on financial markets, >including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and >Securities and Exchange Commissioner Chris Cox. Not a >commie among them. >The housing bubble wasn't a flaw; it was a predictable >outcome of a system that rewarded smart people small >fortunes for conjuring up ways to persuade people to >borrow more than they could ever hope to pay back. All >the profits were taken off the table quickly, but the >staggering costs are only now being paid by >homeowners, shareholders, builders and the rest of >society. >Paulson's proposals won't necessarily prevent a >recurrence, but they are a humble recognition that the >centerpiece of two decades of Republican economic >policy have failed. >-- Rex Nutting, Washington bureau chief > >Related MarketWatch news >S&P report on bank outlook lifts retail sector >TV group questions new 'white spaces' tests >Was Thursday a 'Key Reversal Day'? [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
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| Next they will want us to give them our wealth to bail out a government who... | Stephen | 07:22:05 03/15/08 Sat |
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