Now that the Republican-Democratic budgetary battle that shut down much of the U.S. government earlier this month has been resolved delayed for 3 months. Once again the hope of the politicians from both sides is to achieve some kind of "grand bargain" on the budget that continues to reduce the federal budget deficit. Now the … Continue reading Understanding The Social Security Trust Fund – It’s More A Checking Account and Less of A Trust Fund
budget
A Look at Government Spending Trends. Not What the Deficit-Fearers Claim. It’s Really A Jobs Deficit.
Rebecca Wilder at AngryBearBlog.com explains why the current deficit hysteria that has gripped Washington is misplaced (and offers some great graphs of historical spending patterns). A little terminology for some readers. "cyclically endogenous" means the cause of the spending/revenue is not from some budget decision of this year's Congress or President, but rather that the … Continue reading A Look at Government Spending Trends. Not What the Deficit-Fearers Claim. It’s Really A Jobs Deficit.
But What About National Debt-to-GDP Ratio? Not a Problem, Really
In the comments to my post on the extraordinarily weak 2nd qtr 2011 GDP numbers a reader asks for my thoughts about debt-to-GDP ratio and "how can we afford more stimulus"? Since my response will be a little long and others might be interested, I'll post it here. Reader AZLeader asks: Here are some other GDP … Continue reading But What About National Debt-to-GDP Ratio? Not a Problem, Really
The Public Debt Is Rising Because Of Tax Cuts and Wars
In past posts, I've emphasized that tax cuts don't really generate greater revenues for the government except under the most unusual circumstances. Tax cuts do exactly that, they cut the taxes available to the government. And that is one of the three big reasons why the U.S. government is running large deficits today and has … Continue reading The Public Debt Is Rising Because Of Tax Cuts and Wars
Debt Ceiling: Kabuki Theater of the Absurd
Tuesday evening the House of Representatives voted on whether to raise the so-called "debt ceiling". It was pure charade. No, it's worse. It's kabuki theater of the absurd. First off, the House Republican leadership knows it's only for show. The reality is that Congress will vote to raise the limit later this summer. They have … Continue reading Debt Ceiling: Kabuki Theater of the Absurd
Can We Afford to Raise Taxes On High Incomes? Can We Afford Not To?
Another tax related post. It appears that taxes, in particular, taxes on the top income bracket will be a major topic of debate propaganda for the next year and a half until the next presidential election. Part of the reason is because the tax deal done last December (2010) between Republicans and Obama last December (2010) perpetuated the Bush-era … Continue reading Can We Afford to Raise Taxes On High Incomes? Can We Afford Not To?
U.S. Budget Proposal Analysis Tool (spending)
I missed this when it came out Feb 1, but an alert student pointed me to it. The NYTimes has an excellent interactive visual breakdown of the U.S. Federal Budget spending. It very graphically shows where the money goes and how much. Link: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/02/01/us/budget.html A couple of notes. First, the graphic shows only spending and … Continue reading U.S. Budget Proposal Analysis Tool (spending)
EconProph 