White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs insisted Friday that higher budget forecasts will not make it harder for President Obama to halve the deficit in four years.
(Charles Dharapak/AP)Photos (1 of 1)
CBO: US deficit ballooning to record $1.7 trillion
Higher forecast will complicate Obama's bid to push spending plans through Congress.
By Ron Scherer | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor/ March 20, 2009 edition
New York
The US budget deficit is turning a deeper shade of red.
On Friday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said this year’s budget deficit is now nearly $1.7 trillion, more than $400 billion larger than it forecast two months ago. Next year’s deficit will be nearly $1.1 trillion, $430 billion more than its prior forecast. And that doesn’t count President Obama’s budget plans to cut taxes and increase spending.
Although the deepening recession is partly to blame for the increase, the nonpartisan CBO says the increases are largely due to the sharp rise in spending (think fiscal stimulus package) and the higher cost of saving the financial system.
Political firestorm
The report immediately generated a firestorm of comment in Washington. Republicans said the new numbers ““should serve as a wake-up call” to the administration.” The President’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs, countered that the new numbers would not affect the administration’s effort to cut the budget deficit in half by the end of his first term.
However, some independent budget experts say the sharply rising deficit will change the political context for Mr. Obama’s agenda.
“It will be much more difficult to reform health care, move on the energy front and invest in education,” said Isabel Sawhill, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington and a former official at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Clinton administration. “It makes his whole reinvestment agenda much more problematic, especially if there is not something done to curb entitlement spending in Social Security and Medicare.”
Toward a postwar record
The changes in the deficit forecast means the deficit as a share of the US economy is much higher. Two months ago, the CBO estimated the deficit would be 8.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). It has now raised that estimate to 11.9 percent, the highest level since World War II.
Next year, the budget gap will be 7.9 percent of GDP, up from a prior estimate of 4.9 percent, the CBO said.
“We’re in a bad situation and it’s only going to get worse,” says Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the tax policy center at the Urban Institute in Washington.
Part of the problem is the recession. The CBO estimates that America’s GDP will shrink by 1.5 percent this year but grow by 4.1 percent next year as the bulk of the government stimulus package kicks in. So this year, revenues will fall by $50 billion. But even with the recovery next year, by 2019, it estimates the gap in revenues will grow to $259 billion. “They are projecting things get worse on the revenue side,” says Mr. Williams, who used to work at OMB.
The OMB estimates on the revenue side might even be optimistic, says Williams since it assumes that all of President Bush’s tax cuts will disappear. “That won’t happen,” he predicts. “Obama has already said he won’t raise taxes for most taxpayers, just the top 5 percent.”
Capitol Hill response
The CBO news touched off a barrage of press releases and finger-pointing. On the Republican side, House Republican leader John Boehner (R) of Ohio called the report a “wake-up” call. “We simply cannot continue to mortgage our children and grandchildren’s future to pay for bigger and more costly government,” he said in a statement Friday.
However, Rep. John Spratt (D) of South Carolina and the ranking member of the budget committee, blamed the Bush administration for leaving the economy “in distress” and already deeply in debt.
“The Bush deficits will overhang the budget for years to come,” he said in a statement.
A decade of high debt
No matter who is to blame, the CBO issued yet one more sobering statistic: By 2019, the cost of servicing America’s debt will be $450 billion a year. “That assumes a very low interest rate,” says Williams. “If our creditors lose confidence or demand a higher interest rate that number could rise rapidly.”
Congress has yet to tackle the major entitlements, Social Security and Medicare. “They currently make up 42 percent of the budget and they are growing rapidly,” Ms. Sawhill says. “In just two to three decades, they will be absorbing all our current revenues. So it’s imperative to address the issue now.”
( More stories )
Comments
3. Jim | 03.20.09
Bush Bush Bush…thats all the incompetent democrats can say. Please someone throw away the koolaid jug and tear up that scripted lame excuse.
4. Erazon | 03.20.09
Mr.Obana has a platefull of agenda,not mindful of his fiscal policy behavior.All his talk and promises are all lip services. Nothing signicant.
I wish he would get better economic advisers, not those re-threads.
5. Tag Wheatly | 03.20.09
Our politicians are completely out of control. Although if the wars of Bush had been funded in the budget instead of as a string of emergency appropriations we would have had this picture sooner.
We need to take our government back.
6. Hours of Operations | 03.20.09
It really sad! If George W Bush, Dick Cheney and Republican Party did not destroy United States in last 8 years. We would not be in the mess.
7. Kay B. Day | 03.20.09
Both parties are to blame. You can chart this crisis to the 90s–there’s a cyber-trail a mile long. In 1998, a mega hedge fund tanked to the tune of more than a trillion dollars in debt (LTCM), resting on assets of just a few billion dollars. A bailout ensued. The dot.com bust, the Asia market bust, Russia’s default on its Soviet era debt, a recession looming as Clinton left office, the 9/11 attacks (consider the impact on our social security system alone–how many children were left without a parent), Katrina.
Ironically, Barney Frank actually approached Alan Greenspan in 1998, asking about regulating hedge funds. Greenspan explained the hedgers would simply go somewhere else. During the 90s, the greatest de-regulation in the country’s history occurred, implemented by Clinton and RINO (formerly a Democrat) Phil Gramm. That de-regulation was part of the catalyst for what we’re experiencing, against a backdrop of easy credit that actually began with Jimmy Carter’s CRA.
Then you cannot ignore the defrauding of the government–South Florida is notorious for MediCare fraud and mortgage fraud. I still wonder if some of these “toxic instruments” are not just plain fraudulent, worthless instruments. Perhaps we will never know.
We have built a government that our leaders can neither oversee or administrate. The only answer is for government to take the advice they’re giving us. Downsize. There are a number of agencies that accomplish nothing meaningful.
We also have a dilemma with roughly 12 million people in the country without legal documentation. The (truly) nonpartisan Center for Immigration Studies said such households “imposed more than $26.3 billion in costs on the federal government in 2002 and paid only $16 billion in taxes, creating a net fiscal deficit of almost $10.4 billion, or $2,700 per household.”
There must be a solution for those who have established lives and families here, but it must be a realistic solution that takes those numbers into account. Part of the problem involves people like our treasury secretary. Geithner did not pay social security or other payroll taxes on several domestic workers who were undocumented over a decade (McClatchy News). Geithner is not alone I am certain.
Both parties have catered to special interests and worse, have allowed some financiers to leverage risk on the backs of American taxpayers.
Until we voters wake up and unite as Americans, rather than by the ethnic and other divisive niches the major parties use for vote pandering, nothing in Washington will change.
As someone who has lived through some extremely hard times, I will say the only answer to a budget deficit is to cut spending and live frugally.
Our government absolutely must learn this lesson because other major countries are watching and they are not happy with what they see.
best, Kay B. day
8. cp | 03.20.09
The Democrats are giving us exactly what they wanted; high debt, high taxes and more government! Imagine how the Democrats are trying to teach people to be reponsible with money when our these guys can’t even manage a candy store let alone the largest economy in the world. Of course they will blame everyone (past and present) who does not agree with this economic insanity. Wake up everyone, if you think the Liberal, Money Spending, Tax Raising Democrats are done messing up our economy, just wait another few years. The US will be in such economic stress that it will take 10 generations of our children to pay off what is being spent now. How can we let this happen?? Stop bailing everyone out!! Say Goodbye America and get ready for the Socilistic States of Obama.
9. Reginald Jones | 03.20.09
You are not fooling anyone in your intention to see Obama fail. We are keeping track of your anti American desire to see him fail.
10. Paul Stewart | 03.20.09
Low or no taxes forever is a dream from the wild wild west. America is a developed country - not Bedrock of Flintstone fame. Come on, you need to fix your system. It will need spending. The waste was during the Bush years. Plain and simple. To fix his 8 long weary and foolish years, will take Obama his first term. The second terms is when Americans will be moving forward again. That is the reality. Saying that American can’t afford reform, can’t afford to look after its people is self serving on Republicans’ part. American is still the wealthiest country in the world and yet it relegates itself to the status of poor countries in many ways that are not necessary. Why? Because Republicans and the big media and radio hosts are mindless, selfish, ignorant people.
11. Erik | 03.20.09
Funny that the Republicans:
1) Say that this should be a wake up call to Obama when it was Bush who a) got us into Iraq, b) cut taxes so heavily on the wealthy, and c) signed the bail out.
2) Have indicated that this means we have to cut social spending without considering that a) we might need to curtail our military activities, b) we should stop building bridges to no where in Alaska, and c) we could always restore taxes on the wealthy that were cut under the Bush Administration.
12. norm | 03.20.09
American has been used to spend money which is borrowed from other creditors and is the keypoint maked the deficit climbing.
now it is the time to terminate
13. Dolph Wagner | 03.20.09
Its very simple to get ridofallthis dept. Just tax all consumer items the very same tax rates as Tobbaco is taxed. Injustoneyear the FED. would have a surplus. Eh and probly a new congress next term. But hey then at least it would show congress is fair with equal taxation. YA RIGHT.
14. sam x renick | 03.20.09
Financial education at all levels is needed now more than ever. We have three songs this article bring immediately to mind: Debt Stinks; Budget; Don’t Spend More Than You Make.
Sam X Renick
http://www.itsahabit.com
http://www.sammyrabbitblog.com
Changing Children & Family Lives One Dime and Habit at a Time!
15. reason | 03.20.09
Obama is a disaster. How can anyone believe his lies now?
Everyone who voted for this idiot PLEASE never vote again.
16. bruce Becker | 03.20.09
no one can predict the deficit. There are too many variables. Its nonsense. People are paid to put these numbers out and there is no penalty for being wrong. THEY ARE ALWAYS WRONG. Look at the predictions before Clinton’s first term. Totally off. Who predicted Bush’s debacle? NO ONE. This prediction is merely an attack on the Democrats for varying from the Reagan prescription for failure: feed the rich.
17. Kevin | 03.20.09
Spending money we do not have to solve a problem caused by people who spent money they did not have would likely cause a similar problem. I guess we all can HOPE everything works out as HOPE is obviously all we need with this current administration. The fact we had a CHANGE in Washington should make everything CHANGE for the better, right? Ignorance is bliss.
18. Change2012 | 03.20.09
I wonder if President Obama supporters know how the economy works?
Is getting health care a prerequisite to getting a job?
To create jobs, lets tax the businesses that are not hiring so we all can have health care. After we tax them, we will become healthy enough to work. As a result of having so many healthy Americans, the businesses will immediately start hiring workers. It does not matter if the businesses can afford to increase their payroll, all that matters is the workers have health care.
Supply and demand is a fail policy of the past. In this new era of hope and change we can make up the economic rules as we go.
“The deficit will be cut in half” Great, how is he going to do it? He said it, that’s all we need.
Taxing the rich will solve all of our problems. They have so much money no one els needs to work if they don’t want too. A check will be sent out to the less fortunate.
I think I should start drinking some of that hope and change Kool-Aid.
I’m exaggerating a bit, but I was just trying to think like a liberal.
19. MarkG | 03.20.09
It is unfortunate that Obama has to spend so much money to try to bring us out of a depression, but 26 years of letting one segment of the economy have the benefits has decimated the rest of it. Some of the greatest damage to this country have been done by those calling for reduced government spending, yet they spent us into a 11 trillion dollar deficit. Let me remind you that the deficit hit 1 trillion for the first time under Ronald Reagan and since it has risen under mainly Republican administrations. Bill Clinton balanced the budget with about a 150 billion dollar surplus during the last years of his presidency, so what happened. If that had been allowed to stay on course we would be up about a trillion now from then, but instead 8 years of Republicans have driven it up trillions.
When are they going to stop calling for a stop to repair the damage that they have done. It is the problems that they have caused that Obama is trying to deal with. If he doesn’t take on things like health care then the other things won’t work out either. It is time to fix these problems that have been festering under Republicans. After a time we can’t expect these spending levels but throughout his whole campaign he was honest as to what he was going to do, and it needs to be done. We can’t try to go back to using these old methods that didn’t work or halfway measures to fix things. We are supposed to be a great country, so maybe it is time that we did great things.
20. Chun-Quan Meng | 03.20.09
A reasonal timulus package’s indispensable for the U.S. and rational deficit’s necessary for lessen the affect of global fiancial crisis on the U.S. economy… Hopefully, China’s helping the U.S., the world’s largest economy, recover from the economic downturn by buying the U.S. debt!
21. jdoe | 03.20.09
Obama is an idiot who has no business in office. His administration is full of liars and cheats. Looks like the only change from the previous administration is that it’s democrats f’ing everything up this time…
22. Timmay | 03.20.09
The country is in the best of hands. As far as you red state rubes know, that is.
23. 123456 | 03.20.09
barack obama has sold this country.
thank god for only 4 years
(assuming no coup, which at this point seems to be entirely justified.)
god help him,
his sins will follow him.
god forgive him,
he will need it.
24. Larry | 03.20.09
How long will it take for leftist Americans to join us and take to the streets in protest? Is the picture still that fuzzy to them? Obama is a communist. He is spewing taxpayer money that he is printing and borrowing from China in every direction EXCEPT the taxpayer. Sure, some may see a check for a few hundred, once, or an increase in their food stamps, but working people are going to see their jobs vanish and your children will have to deal with all of this massive debt and inflation after Obama is kicked back or shootin’ hoops at his Presidential Retreat.
I realize that too Americans have become cowardly and lazy, but this guy is taking us all down while half the country cheers him on. it’s the craziest time in American history that I have ever seen in 58 years.
Look, I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night and I still can’t understand why people on the left are sitting by while Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s alter boy steals their children’s futures. Shame on you, mom and dad, papa and nana.
I cancelled all newspaper and magazine subscriptions, we will not purchase a new car as we planned; we are hunkering down. Only fools don’t know that the light at the end of this tunnel is a freight train.
25. David Hanig | 03.20.09
I never thought that the US Government would ever look to Argentina for economic policy. The amounts of spending, taxes, and debt are insane. Does anybody in the White House or the Congress know what they’re doing?
26. Harold Cutler | 03.20.09
Obama has taken the easy way in his changing of the american economy. He has spent his politicaal capital in his effort to spend his way to revamping the economy, this was easy, with a Democrat controlled congress, a working team of incompetant advisors; this has resulted in a massive train wreck.
The primary effort should have been about the energy crisis. This would take longer to resolve, but, as the energy crisis was resolved, the public could see the issue being solved and his public support would have increased. Unfortunatly instead of showing results quickly with major results within five to ten years, we will wind up with a massive energy shortage with a serious inflation of energy costs.
The Democratic Congress caused this problem but Pelosi and Reid started this recession and Obama’s insistance of massive money outflow has exasperated Obamas problems.
27. Larry Douglas | 03.20.09
I sincerely hope that there are enough people who voted for Obama and his ilk that are in stark terror of what they did to this country. These Democrats are the craziest bunch of crack heads imaginable. A creative writer could not make this stuff up - really! Obama, Jeremiah Wright, How could you people not understand that? His TWENTY YEAR mentor told you in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that he hated you, and he hated America. You Dems are absolutely stuck on stupid -stupid!
28. Stephan Andrew Brodhead | 03.20.09
THe Obama administration is completely out of touch with current demographics. Five million baby boomers a year will be leaving the work force over the 20 years. Medicare recipients will grow from 45 million to 80 million. Health care costs double every 7.2 years due to inflation. The current medicare budget is over $400 billion. If the recipient total stayed at 45 million over the next 7.2 years, medicare costs would grow to $800 billion. Since 5 million will be added each year to the current 45 million, it is possible for recipient total to reach 70 million. This would quadruple current medicare costs of $400 billion to $1.6 trillion. The current market down turn will exacerbate the already tenuous Social Security problem. Social Security makes up a whopping 70 percent of most seniors retirement portfolio. Each year 5 million seniors will be leaving the stock market for safer savings.This will drive the market down. Soon there will be 140 million workers supporting 80 million retirees on full ride entitlements. The ratio will be 2.5 to 1. Given this trend, the CBO forecasts of GDP growth are false. Obama and the democratically controlled congress spent a Trillion dollars on zero sum energy programs that should have been directed at strengthening Social security, and modernizing senior health Care. There is no possible way the GDP will grow unless we increase legal immigration by 1000 percent with fast track status for medical professions. Obama is telling a fib about halving the deficit. Or does he really have a grasp on any of our economic realities. Some say the economy will be on a dead cat bounceunless we cut taxes and spending at state, and federal levels. His budget of 3.6 Trillion should be cut to 2.6 Trillion. The target federal Budget as a percentage of GDP should never be more than 18 percent. Currently it is 36 percent. Obama will inevitably use his fiscal stupidity to justify huge tax increases and bastardized Health Care. He basically told seniors that everything would be fine if they voted for him. The sad thing is our children will be stuck with the bill. Seniors only want to hear what they want to hear while young voters are apathetic. This reality will doom our economy as Obama seeks to continue the fiscal foolishness of his economic policies. We need reform in Health care, Social security, overseas policy, illegal immigrant entitlements, military spending, and rampant fedreal Government spending if we are going to get this beast under control. Or we could just make 2.5 workers pay for it all!
These days their is no truth in politics. Politicians will tell the voters what they want to hear just to garner votes. If you tell the truth, you alienate the voter.I do not operate that way. If you feel my info is suspect, pick up a U.S. Census and find out for yourself.
29. DaveinPhoenix | 03.21.09
Funny how people blame a Republican president for the sins of a Democratic Congress which actually writes the budgets and legislation. After living in South Carolina for 5 years, I realize now why so many despised the hypocrisy of John Spratt.
30. Dan | 03.21.09
I’m tired of this president blaming Bush and then doing the same things he did only ten times more. We voted for change - you can’t blame the previous administration of huge deficit spending and then make it worse by spending even more.
Let’s get the government’s fiscal and ethical house in order then maybe we’ll be in a position to fix these issues. Obviously rushing through legislation that no one has read isn’t working.
31. karen | 03.21.09
WE DON’T NEED A COMEDIAN.. WE DON’T NEED TO FUND AN ENTOURAGE TO TRAVEL HIS COMEDIC GIGS.. HE’S NOT FUNNY.. WE ARE SICK OF THE DAMN DOG SOAPBOX.. WE CARE ABOUT DOGTAGS COMING BACK IN BOXES..sASHA IS A CUTE KID.. BUT WE DON’T NEED HIM TO STICK IT TO US ALL THE TIME.. HER DADDY WAS BESIDE HER WITH THE MILITARY.. THERE ARE PLENTY OF SWEET GIRLS WHO NEED A COMMANDER IN CHIEF TO BRING THIER DADDY’S HOME..THE DEFICIT IS NOT GOING TO GET ANY BETTER IF HE DOESN’T STOP THE PARTY AND TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS LIKE HE GET’S PAID TO DO..
I THINK THAT COVERS THE ISSUE WITH MR. BARAK H. OBAMA..I HAD MUCH HIGHER HOPES FOR HIM.. HE’S DISSAPPOINTING..
32. dragonfly777 | 03.21.09
One must be totally stupid to think deficit spending can rebuild the ecomony. Maybe I should call up my credit card lenders and tell them I need to extend my credit 500 percent so I can buy my way out of debt with them. Think they will understand? That is what Obama and his porky pig congress are doing. The USA will be bankrupt by 2010. The dollar will be worth nothing and Obama will suggest the Amero currency. All your hard work all of your lives will be worthless….You heard it here first.
33. Phillip | 03.21.09
Off course, blame Bush.
In 2019 Libs still will blame Bush. Nobody is talking that Clinton handed to Bush recession.
34. Espen | 03.21.09
The figure of 1,7 trillion dollars is based upon the assumption from the Federal reserve that the US economy will start to see signs of improvement towards the end of this year. This premises that there will be no collapse in the retail sector, the credit card bubble will not burst, and the dollar will not substantially weaken. For Lucy in the sky with diamonds this might appear possible, but when political leaders indulge in wishful thinking of such a magnitude, it becomes a bizarre form of comedy. It is likely the deficit will exceed 2 trillion dollars, most of which will have to be monetized.
Let’s hope that on the other side of this abyss, a new renaissance awaits.
35. egoist | 03.21.09
Words we will [re-]add to our vocabulary:
Collapse, shortages, scarcity, rationing, 5-year-plan, hording, homeless, nutrition czar, transport / distribution security czar, fair price gold buyback plan, fair price 401K liquidation plan.
We are so screwed.
36. financialtools1 | 03.21.09
The US deficit this year of 2009 is the result of the last 8 years of incompetence , of the Iraq/Afghanistan War and our constant dependency on foreign oil and gas , among other facts : The Iraq /Afghanistan War was outsourced with NO oversight and lots of duplication, fraud, abuse, theft and waste, and now the USA faces 10 % of Veterans with huge emotional and mental issues ( Tim McVeigh comes to mind ) that will create a huge social and security problem, and the same neocons that pushed for these Wars ( Shumer,Feinstein,Frank,Summers, Emanuel,Wolfowitz,Perle,Feith,Lieberman ,Bolten,Abrams,Libby, etc. ) knew this very well when they promoted these Wars every day on TV,Radio and Newspapers in 2002 and 2003 , they knew very well.
America must develop a full Solar,Wind and Wave ,Geothermal and Synthetic - Bio Fuels Energy Industry right now , a whole new generation of Americans working on these new Energy sources, a whole new Culture,right now.
37. J Dickinson | 03.23.09
Newt was on CNN yesterday saying that if ” AIG was to big to fail…it was therefore too big to manage”…I think he was right. - seems like that applies to our federal gov’t…
38. Greg Sweitzer | 03.27.09
It was Dick Cheney who said “deficits don’t matter”, and in the same conversation (with the then-secretary of the Treasury, who was warning about budget deficits years ago), Cheney responded, “We won the mid-terms (election) - This is our due.” Talk about narcissitic entitlement!!
FACTS:
Reagan ran up huge deficits.
Clinton balanced the budget.
Bush ran up huge deficits, went on a spending binge, giving trillions in tax breaks to his rich pals.
Republicans run up the bills, then whine when Democrats go about paying them. As a Democrat, I feel like I’m married to a compulsive shopper who refuses to work (Republicans).
What I don’t understand is why younger people weren’t screaming bloody murder when Reagan and then Bush ran such huge deficits for the wealthy. After all, the boomers will be retiring just about the time the economy hits a huge depression, and it is young people who will be totally out of luck. They’ll be stuck with the bills for the boomer’s excesses.
Ultimately, we, the American people are to blame - for failing to oversee our leaders and hold them accountable.
BTW - The above article is incorrect when it states the cost of servicing the debt in 2019 will be 450 billion a year; we’re paying that much now. The current debt is 11 trillion dollars. Assuming the treasury can sell notes at no less than 4 per cent, we’re already paying 450 billion a year to service the debt.
39. Kerem Oner | 03.30.09
Abandonment of constitutional principles which allowed irresponsible spending during the past 7+ decades is in the root of our problems. The trigger of our current woes were multiple: easy credit policies as aided by legislation like CRA, abandonment of Glass Stegall as solely spearheaded by the Democrats in the 1990s, and spineless Republicans that came after Newt and spent like their Democrat counterparts.
That is the simple and brief explanation of the current situation we find ourselves in. I thought I would point it out in the light of moronic liberals who have left equally uninformed and moronic messages!
40. Kerem Oner | 03.30.09
One more thing. Clinton did not balance any budgets. They occurred when Republicans took over the House in 1994. Clinton had to agree kicking and screaming to their demands for smaller government and lower cap gains taxes. Get you facts straight, Mr. Sweitzer!!
42. Tony The Tiger | 04.02.09
But where were you all criticals of Obama’s “spending wreck” the past 8 yrs when President Bush under the watch of a Republican controlled congress (at least for the first 6 yrs) let a surplus from Bill Clinton’s days become the current $1.7B budget deficit?
Where were Jeff, Jim, Erazon, CP, Dave in Phoenix and all the others against massive spending between 2000 and 2008? Did you raise your voice against the Iraq war that is costing us $400B/month and has $0 return except increasing anti-American sentiment around the world?
I’m just saying…
43. upward66 | 04.07.09
So far the consensus of this blog is anit - Obama. It appears to me America needs to do her homework before they vote. There were many questionable issues about Obama brought up during the campaign, no one really paid attention. Most folks I talked with had no clue where he stood on political and moral issues. Now, our own President is shaming us by referring to us as “arrogant” and he bowed to a middle eastern leader. Does anyone out there who knows about culture understand the implications of what this man is doing????
44. Me here | 04.10.09
Me, here, I just laugh at you clowns …… bush did it ! Obama’s worse, the sky is falling …. ROFLOL
I think the best thing for the States and the rest of the world is to build a REALLY big HUGE wall about 20″ feet high right around your country ……. then all we need to clean up the planet is ….. FILL IT WITH WATER !!!!
45. SOCIALISTAMERICA | 04.10.09
first of all democrats have the worst reputation in spending. and ronald reagon was the best president cause hes a smart guy.
46. Michael R. | 04.15.09
I’m really tired of Obama and his Liberal lackeys whining about the deficit Bush left. He constantly points to what he “inherited” from the previous administration. That can be their fall-back when their “spend our way back to prosperity” policys fail. Does these people live in Bizzaro World? Even an idiot knows that when times are tough, the answer isn’t to spend more money! So far, in less than three months, he’s increased government spending of OUR money to obscene levels, threatened to push the deficit to incomprehensible numbers that will ensure that generations to come will be siginificantly worse off then we are.
Previous generations used to make the hard choices so their kids would have it better than they did. Aren’t we proud that we’ll be the first generation to leave our kids worse off?
47. coolerthanu | 04.16.09
y would it be a good thing to promote socialism, we are a capitalist country it doesn’t matter what Obama does as long as he fixes the economy
48. James Makowski | 04.21.09
The government should put a freeze on all government wages at least or if needed make some cuts in government wages to. Were having to make cuts they should to just like those big companies CEOs asking for a bail out.
49. Mark | 04.23.09
Well, anyone know the bible story where Jesus hands out talents (money) to three servants and expects them to go and multiply them? The first one gets 10 then 3 and the last one 1 talent. The first two do great, they multiply them and are able to bring back more than was given to them. The third one hides his one talent in the ground. Well I got an addition to this Bible story for you. How about the third servant goes out and buys himself a large house, a big fridge, a Tv for every room of his large house and and several large SUVs. He doesn’t care about the amount of gasoline it uses, because gasoline is cheap in his country!!
Well this works fine as long as the Master doesn’t come back and ask for his money, but once he does, do you think he gets to keep all this stuff?!!
Boohoo! Of course not!
Do you think it’s a coincidence that we are now partially owned by China, Japan and England who invested large amounts of money into our capital markets and we blew it by keeping on taking up mortgages on ever-rising properties and went out to blow that money on our worlds resources of past, present and future?
Maybe it’s time to stop blaming everyone else, the BAD politicians, repulicans, democrats, who cares! or the BAD bankers).
In the end WE consumed these resources on mortgage debt, on credit card debt and bank loans.
Who do you think was going to pay for all this in the end? Well other countries are paying for it now too! Because just as the Master he was trusting that his money was going to be taken well care of. What remains now are huge losses and claims of other countries on OUR country. WE had to accept this debt on consumer spending, not the politicians, not the bankers!!
Maybe it is time to stop blaming everyone else and start taking responsibility for our overindulged lifestyles on other people’s money.
50. Brett Hoffman | 05.05.09
Looks like too many people have been watching fox news. I don’t think that you realize that there is no way to fix this crisis unless taxes are raised and social programs are created to increase jobs are inacted. Republicans got us into this mess, and McCains idea of letting business, get us out, while they were half the problem was absurd. Know your facts before you go ranting and raving over how bad Obama is. Typical republican ignorant talk.
51. jmact | 05.05.09
I read these comments with great sadness- there is so much divisiveness and hatred. Obama was duly elected by a majority of thoughtful Americans who felt strongly about the need for change, and he is working hard to address the issues he was elected to correct. These are difficult times we live in. During the Bush years, I disagreed with much he did, but always hoped he knew what he was doing and that he was acting in our best interests. I would encourage those who currently feel disenfranchised to do the same with our current President. Loving our country means to support it’s laws and duly elected government. If you don’t like it, then work to elect those you think will do better. All this hatred I believe is downright un-American and has the potential to do more harm to our country than any government will ever do. LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT as we used to say.
52. Bill Peterson | 05.06.09
The US trade deficit is turning a deeper shade of red. An Operations Research model conclusively shows that the U.S. economic deficit is an unavoidable consequence of the U.S. trade deficit. Control of International trade is the responsibility of the Congress. But they will not fix this because they will not face their constituents and tell them they must buy American made, that they cannot have the freedom of a World Economy to shop in. The U.S. economy can survive today’s economic crisis, but only if the U.S. economy is confined to be just that, the U.S. economy.
Oil and automobiles are our biggest trade deficit items. With nuclear power we must manufacture hydrogen for our fuel. There is a new 300-year spent nuclear fuel disposal solution to get rid of nuclear waste. Using hydrogen for fuel stops the burning of carbon so is a repair for global climate change. Nuclear-hydrogen would be a U.S. manufactured product that would go a long ways to repairing the trade imbalance. We would need to be happy with driving Chevys, Fords, and Dodges, Bill Peterson, M.S., P.E.
Sec. 8. [Powers of congress.]
[3.] To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among
the several States, and with the Indian tribes;
[5.] To coin Money regulate the Value thereof, and foreign
Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
53. SMARtboy | 05.08.09
How about we become energy independent by building a ton of nuclear reactors and preventing over a trillion dollars leaving the United States every year
54. CB Fields | 05.09.09
Banking problem - deregulation and greed. Regulate and fire, if not jail.
Securities Fraud - deregulation and greed. Regulate and jail and a little buyer beware.
Deficit - take power from congress tomorrow. Allow an independant group of citizens to submit a balanced, real requirements based budget for the next 5 years. The whole system, as it stands today, can’t be fixed - just realize it and lets take action to start over. Otherwise America will continue to drown itself in debt to the point that we have no way out except to declare we are bankrupt to the world. We are within 10 years of this happening.
Health care for all - lobbyists, tradition and greed. Pass a simple law requiring it for employees of companies of a certain size. Smaller companies pay a fee, employee and the USG pick up the rest (80/20 share). Out of work - 100% USG coverage. Time for America to get into the 20th century on health care.
Bailouts - poor management rewarded, greed and no appreciation of hard working people. Let them all go bankrupt - stop bailing out failed and corrupt corporations (Banks) or entire industries (car) - now. It is the most American of things to do. Nothing more needs to be said.
Above all else - get out of the war for war sake business. It is a dead end - negative sum game. Nothing good happens after midnight and nothing good comes from invading soverign nations - even bad and corrupt ones.
I do not see a good ending for America - to many angry people not getting their way.
55. Jack | 05.16.09
We are where we are no matter how or why you think we got here. Obama and the Democrats are in charge now. What are they going to do about it? I voted for Obama but I won’t do that again. The level of government spending is completely insane and giving most of it to the big banks is really crazy. We should not buy or guarantee their bad assets. If they are insolvent their management and boards should be replaced and they should be put into receivership. This will cost some money but it will be well spent as the bad assets and management will get flushed from the system. All of them should be put on notice that such irresponsible behavior will not be tolerated and the government will not take the loss for their bad decisions. If we have to give money away then target it to help the regular economy and the majority of folks and not the wealthy elite.
56. PM | 05.17.09
Obama: The Six Trillion Dollar Man?
It’s not Obama’s fault per se. He and the Congress have been caught in a whirlwind of spending linked to a social phenomena called “Group Think” linked to Nationalism.
Was Hitler at fault? Was the entire German military in WWII at fault? Were all the Nazi judges/concentration Camp workers at fault? How about all the regular citizens with arm bands baiting fellow citizens?
The problem is Nationalism. By citing “Emergency Expenditures” or “National Security” little Nazis in the US Congress have bankrupted the Treasury.
The Wars have bankrupted the Country! The huge costs/deficits/negative publicity as a result (combined with a spike in gas prices) sunk the stock market. Literally trillions evaporated overnight. To top it all off the US actually moved to bail out all the stock market victims (mostly the big banks).
So no one is to blame except those involved in activites related to Nationalism (IE: Foreign service, public bailouts for National Security Reasons , etc, etc). Bush’s call to serve is and was a complete Sham.
The King Has No Clothes
57. Travis | 05.27.09
This country made a big mistake electing Obama as President. He is a Socialist, if not Communist. I love my country and we are losing our country a little more every day because of people like Obama.
58. toomuchdebt | 06.18.09
My prediction of the next battle won won’t be from a World War, it will be from a financial takeover. Those in the largest debt may find themselves with nothing to keep the debt collectors at bay. The same meltdown we experienced nationally will be played out internationally soon if we don’t get our act together. How can our government continue to support outsourcing every American opportunity, chipping away at our ability to create wealth. While at the same time, spending more than they budget every year. Insane. We will find ourselves trying to cross the ocean with no gas in the tank soon. Sitting ducks for every scheming thug to take advantage of us. Not a good formula for national security to me…???
59. DBS | 07.13.09
Back on 03.20.09 something called Hours of Operations loudly proclaimed: “It really sad! If George W Bush, Dick Cheney and Republican Party did not destroy United States in last 8 years. We would not be in the mess”.
Oh yes, the economic collapse which occurred in late 2008 is entirely the fault of the Bush administration which was lame duck city as soon as democrats took control of congress in 06. Obama is piling up debt at a record pace and before he even took office his party ponied up 750 billion to ensure that even incompetent CEO’s would be able to keep their corporate jets. The Democrats are now the official party of tax payer funded corporate welfare. Both parties are fiscally out of control and anyone who doesn’t see it is deserves the crushing tax burden that’s coming to pay for it.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
1. The Federal Deficit Predicted to Pass $1.8 TRILLION. Time to Reign in Misguided Fed. Government Spending? | THE WEEKLY POINT | 03.20.09
3. CBO: US deficit ballooning to record $1.7 trillion | csmonitor.com : PlanetTalk.net - Learn the truth , no more lies | 03.23.09
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1. Jeff | 03.20.09
Obama is acting like a friggin’ rockstar going on T.V. shows and yucking it up for the cameras. Instead of worrying about his image and selling socialism, he should be trying to figure out a way to cut spending. That is something that might be difficult, maybe he can just vote “present” when each challenge comes up. This country is doomed with clowns like this in the white house.