Links for in-class discussion on US Federal Budget and fiscal policy: nationalpriorities.org Wikipedia on US Federal Budget White House and Office of Mgt and Budget on 2015 Budget Actual 2015 US Budget Proposal - from Govt Printing Office (pdf of graphs/tables)
government budget
Would a Balanced Budget Amendment Help or Hurt?
One component of the deal to raise the debt-ceiling is a requirement that Congress vote later this year on a "Balanced Budget Amendment" to the Constitution. Is such an amendment a good idea? At first glance, the idea seems attractive to a lot of people for whom the debt and deficits are seen as the key … Continue reading Would a Balanced Budget Amendment Help or Hurt?
Debt-Ceiling: An Absurd, Unnecessary Law
The debt-ceiling circus in Washington continues as I write this. The Republicans seem bound and determined to ruin the "full faith and credit" of the United States, while President Obama is frustrated that the Republicans won't accept his deals to cut Social Security and Medicare. None of this is necessary. We don't need a debt … Continue reading Debt-Ceiling: An Absurd, Unnecessary Law
Arithmetic, Reality, and Dreams of A Balanced Budget
Apparently, the Republicans and Tea Partiers are insisting that the federal government budget be balanced immediately (the demand for no increase in the debt ceiling) and that it be done entirely from spending cuts (the "no tax increases" pledge) to discretionary spending. This is enough to demonstrate that they simply are not dealing in reality … Continue reading Arithmetic, Reality, and Dreams of A Balanced Budget
How to Tell If the Politician or Reporter Is Ignorant, Foolish, or Has a Hidden Agenda – Part 1
One of the reasons my posts have been scarce* lately is because, frankly, I'm frustrated and nearly speechless at the foolish talk and nonsense that currently passes for news about the economy lately. In particular, this year the politicians and reporters in Washington have been focused on the federal government deficits and debt. We are … Continue reading How to Tell If the Politician or Reporter Is Ignorant, Foolish, or Has a Hidden Agenda – Part 1
What Budget Crisis? Let’s Do Nothing Now
My Mother was a big advocate of patience. She was the anti-crisis. In response to any panicked concerns I had about the some "crisis" that was coming, we always counseled "we'll cross that bridge when we get to it". And sure enough, there was usually either no problem eventuallly crossing the bridge or there was … Continue reading What Budget Crisis? Let’s Do Nothing Now
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)
Real Causes of Federal Spending Growth: Military and Healthcare
Kash at Streetlightblog and Angry Bear explains easily with one graph both how the federal budget got to be in such imbalance (deficit) relative to GDP and how insignificant the so-called "massive stimulus" was in 2009-10. I think that when trying to understand the federal government's fiscal situation, at least on the spending side, it … Continue reading Real Causes of Federal Spending Growth: Military and Healthcare
Reference: Links on Federal Budget 2012
Via Angry Bear, for reference: FY 2012 Federal Budget The following links are to federal government sources for the federal budget, OMB The Budget Summary Tables Terminations, Reductions and Savings TESTIMONY OF JACOB J. LEW DIRECTOR OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET February 15, 2011
More re: National Debt
Just after I finished my Background Info on National Debt post, I ran across this from James Galbraith at New Deal 2.0. He does a nice job of pointing out some of the errors of the "oh-my-god-the-deficit-is-going-to-destroy-us-if-we-don't-cut-grandma's-social-security" crowd. For those not aware, Pete Peterson is a billionaire that has spent millions trying to frighten people … Continue reading More re: National Debt
EconProph 