• White House paints a grim fiscal picture
    106 replies, posted
[B] WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House will predict a $1.6 trillion U.S. budget deficit in the 2010 fiscal year, a fresh record and the biggest since World War Two as a share of the economy, a congressional source told Reuters on Sunday. [/B] The grim forecast adds to the challenges facing President Barack Obama, who is emphasizing a message of fiscal discipline but is also seeking stimulus measures to boost the struggling economy in the near term. Obama's budget proposal, which will be released at 10 a.m. EST on Monday, will predict a narrowing of the deficits to $700 billion by fiscal 2013 before they gradually rise back to $1 trillion by the end of the decade, the Capitol Hill source said. He will submit his spending blueprint for the 2011 fiscal year that begins October 1 and runs through September 30 next year. Obama is trying to strike a balance between long-term deficit reduction and easing the pain of double-digit unemployment through proposals such as tax credits to encourage business hiring and tax breaks for middle class families. He is to deliver remarks on the U.S. fiscal situation at 10:45 a.m. EST. Criticized by Republicans as a big spender, Obama used his State of the Union address last week to tell Americans he would dig the country out of a "massive fiscal hole." That hole is even deeper than previously believed, according to the estimate by the White House's Office of Management and Budget. The estimate for the current 2010 fiscal year that ends September 30 is significantly higher than the $1.35 trillion figure forecast by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office last week. Despite the difference, both estimates indicate that the deficit will continue to hover near 10 percent of gross domestic product, a level not seen since World War Two, when measured as a percentage of the economy. Last year, the government posted a $1.4 trillion deficit, equivalent to 9.9 percent of GDP. [I]THREE-YEAR FREEZE WON'T BE ENOUGH[/I] In his budget, Obama will propose a three-year freeze on some domestic programs to save $20 billion next year and $250 billion over the coming decade. But that will not be enough to get deficits down permanently to the 3 percent of GDP that most economists consider sustainable. Deficits are projected to fall as the economy recovers, but they will still average roughly 4.5 percent of GDP over the coming decade, according to the estimate. Deficits are expected to rise again toward the end of the decade due to the increasing cost of retirement and healthcare programs as the "baby boom" generation retires. Obama has warned that the burgeoning U.S. debt could unnerve U.S. financial markets, driving up borrowing costs and putting future economic growth at risk. China, the biggest foreign holder of U.S. Treasuries, has urged the United States to get its fiscal house in order. The bleak numbers could help build support for a bipartisan commission proposed by the White House that would recommend ways to address the budget problems. Obama and his fellow Democrats face a growing voter backlash for the aggressive spending measures they have taken to stimulate the economy. But Democrats point out that most of the fiscal mess has been inherited from the previous administration of Republican George W. Bush, who cut taxes and created an expensive prescription drug-benefit while pursuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The recession, which began in December 2007, also worsened the fiscal picture by depressing government revenues while forcing up spending on unemployment benefits and other safety-net programs. The U.S. economy returned to growth last year after the worst downturn since the 1930s. [URL="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60U1PZ20100201"]News Article[/URL] Uncontrollable debt. Only way to fix it is to run the shit into the ground.
:doh:
Dammit all.
Jesus Christ.
Where are we going to get more "stimulus" money if we're currently walking all over China's respect by selling Taiwan our weapons?
[QUOTE=Wakka;19969409]Where are we going to get more "stimulus" money if we're currently walking all over China's respect by selling Taiwan our weapons?[/QUOTE] Maybe Europe will give us a hand...
Obama has downs. :downs:
In related news, China posted the biggest profit since, well, their existence.
Fucking economics, man.
Well, the good news is that debt, in and of itself, is not bad. Not being able to pay off debt, THAT can be bad.
[QUOTE=Doug52392;19969437]In related news, China posted the biggest profit since, well, their existence.[/QUOTE] They've got it good. You know, excluding the whole thousands of civil rights violations.
Fuck.
:patriot: Why was I rated Artistic
That article said beficits when I went to quote it, did you fix Reuters' mistake?
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;19969423]Maybe Europe will give us a hand...[/QUOTE] No one will want anything to do with the US. Countries will switch to a different means of investment. Perhaps the EU, Brazil, Russia, or Saudi Arabia.
:signings:
[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;19969425]Obama has downs. :downs:[/QUOTE] He's doing everything in his power to ease the blow. Everything he's doing is right.
[QUOTE=Wakka;19969479]No one will want anything to do with the US. Countries will switch to a different means of investment. Perhaps the EU, Brazil, Russia, or Saudi Arabia.[/QUOTE] Oh balls.
[QUOTE=Ryx;19969472]That article said beficits when I went to quote it, did you fix Reuters' mistake?[/QUOTE] My mistake. I accidentally erased the D when I was fixing the copy pasta mess and accidentally but a B.
[QUOTE=Wakka;19969492]He's doing everything in his power to ease the blow. Everything he's doing is right.[/QUOTE] Like running the country into the ground?
[QUOTE=ZakkShock;19969456] Why was I rated Artistic[/QUOTE] Because. It just felt right, with that response. One of those "I'm laughing because I want to cry".
where is this picture i want to see it
Where the fuck is Obama supposed to get this money? He keeps talking about using billions of dollars of stimulus money that he doesn't have.
[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;19969589]Like running the country into the ground?[/QUOTE] That was the subsequent leaders, but George Bush put the icing on the cake by lowering everyone taxes, encouraging banks to give out sub-prime mortgages, and running two wars at once.
[QUOTE=Gmod_Fan77;19969609]Where the fuck is Obama supposed to get this money? He keeps talking about using billions of dollars of stimulus money that he doesn't have.[/QUOTE] Why don't you know!? You just print it off the presses! :buddy:
[QUOTE=Gmod_Fan77;19969609]Where the fuck is Obama supposed to get this money? He keeps talking about using billions of dollars of stimulus money that he doesn't have.[/QUOTE] Monopoly money.
In his next address to the nation he'll tell all of the Americans to look in their jeans pockets and in between the couch cushions.
[QUOTE=Wakka;19969618]That was the subsequent leaders, but George Bush put the icing on the cake by lowering everyone taxes, encouraging banks to give out sub-prime mortgages, and running two wars at once.[/QUOTE] The problem came from spending too much money, so why does Obama think that spending even more money will fix it? It's like a alcoholic drinking more to get rid of his hangover.
[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;19969670]The problem came from spending too much money, so why does Obama think that spending even more money will fix it? It's like a alcoholic drinking more to get rid of his hangover.[/QUOTE] Precisely. [IMG]http://i47.tinypic.com/2ihrp8w.gif[/IMG] This is how the United States looks to foreign investors.
[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;19969670]The problem came from spending too much money, so why does Obama think that spending even more money will fix it? It's like a alcoholic drinking more to get rid of his hangover.[/QUOTE] It's a very simple concept. If you throw enough money at a problem, it'll eventually go away. ...I think :v:
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