One of the more absurd moments for DuhPrez last Wednesday nigh occurred when he pontificated that the deficits of his administration were inherited, 'And we all know what caused that!', going on to cite two wars fought, increased domestic spending and that Evil Tax Cut.
This chart provides a reality check, and proof from the public record that Obama was, once again, making things up as he went along. He probably even believes the stuff he spouts, which is saddening to contemplate.
Next week's New Yorker cover tells the tale in one image. OS plans to buy a copy and frame it.
Showing posts with label deficit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deficit. Show all posts
Monday, October 8, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
DanHan: Comes A Point When You Run Out Of Track...
OS watched in horror a few years ago as Clarkson and the boys undertook their ill-advised journey through Florida, across the Gulf Coast, terminating their travels in NawLeenz. It got so ugly, so quickly.
There was, however, a truly funny moment when the boys were told they were to engage in the classic timed quarter-mile straight sprint in their junker cars, on a track that was only a quarter-mile plus about fifty yards. At yard fifty-one lay the ditch full of alligators.
Fahr-'em-up boyz!! And off they went, with brakes that were definitely not up to the task. No one was injured, blessedly, but things ended badly for one of the cars, if memory serves.
This episode is not unlike what we now see happening in both the United States and Europe. February 2012 was the highest monthly deficit this nation has ever recorded, in over two hundred years since the Constitution was ratified. The Senate will not pass a budget. The White House is a runaway freight train.
This can only end badly, and OS, in his darker moments, wonders if perhaps folks in the White House have some sort of train-over-the-cliff moment in mind for us all. It explains their behavior, when nothing else will.
Meanwhile, DanHan (as always) states the case succinctly. OS does wish we could lease this gent for a couple of decades. Sort of a reverse Lend-Lease back to Great Britain. We'll even give them Puerto Rico in the bargain, since we took some islands from them in the 1940's.
There was, however, a truly funny moment when the boys were told they were to engage in the classic timed quarter-mile straight sprint in their junker cars, on a track that was only a quarter-mile plus about fifty yards. At yard fifty-one lay the ditch full of alligators.
Fahr-'em-up boyz!! And off they went, with brakes that were definitely not up to the task. No one was injured, blessedly, but things ended badly for one of the cars, if memory serves.
This episode is not unlike what we now see happening in both the United States and Europe. February 2012 was the highest monthly deficit this nation has ever recorded, in over two hundred years since the Constitution was ratified. The Senate will not pass a budget. The White House is a runaway freight train.
This can only end badly, and OS, in his darker moments, wonders if perhaps folks in the White House have some sort of train-over-the-cliff moment in mind for us all. It explains their behavior, when nothing else will.
Meanwhile, DanHan (as always) states the case succinctly. OS does wish we could lease this gent for a couple of decades. Sort of a reverse Lend-Lease back to Great Britain. We'll even give them Puerto Rico in the bargain, since we took some islands from them in the 1940's.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Quote Of The Day: Andrew Sullivan's Response To Himself's Budget In Today's Atlantic
To all those under 30 who worked so hard to get this man elected, know this: he just screwed you over. He thinks you're fools. Either the US will go into default because of Obama's cowardice, or you will be paying far far more for far far less because this president has no courage when it counts. He let you down. On the critical issue of America's fiscal crisis, he represents no hope and no change. Just the same old Washington politics he once promised to end.
This is Andrew Sullivan, a Lion of the Left, writing for the most East Coast of all the East Coast Establishment brands. Whoodathunkit?
This is the sort of tone one spouse takes to the other as she's walking out the door to visit her newly-engaged attorney. This doesn't allow for any kiss-and-make-up moment later.
It's dawning on him, and many on The Left, that Obama is a nihilist at heart. The Empty Shirt the rest of us have always known him to be.
OS was curious as to why today's 11:00 am press conference was so hastily called. Given the reaction OS has been able to garner from Himself's posse on the left, the event seems less surprising. It was damage control, pure and simple. It was all dodging and weaving and calling for 'adult conversations' and 'compromise', anything to change the subject.
Problem is, unless this subject is addressed, the other subjects don't merit discussion. It's the situation of the wife who discovers the husband's other wife and family tucked away in San Diego. No need to discuss the color scheme for the bathroom remodel just now.
This is Andrew Sullivan, a Lion of the Left, writing for the most East Coast of all the East Coast Establishment brands. Whoodathunkit?
This is the sort of tone one spouse takes to the other as she's walking out the door to visit her newly-engaged attorney. This doesn't allow for any kiss-and-make-up moment later.
It's dawning on him, and many on The Left, that Obama is a nihilist at heart. The Empty Shirt the rest of us have always known him to be.
OS was curious as to why today's 11:00 am press conference was so hastily called. Given the reaction OS has been able to garner from Himself's posse on the left, the event seems less surprising. It was damage control, pure and simple. It was all dodging and weaving and calling for 'adult conversations' and 'compromise', anything to change the subject.
Problem is, unless this subject is addressed, the other subjects don't merit discussion. It's the situation of the wife who discovers the husband's other wife and family tucked away in San Diego. No need to discuss the color scheme for the bathroom remodel just now.
Monday, July 26, 2010
The Sound Of Desperate Back-Pedaling: The Nashville Tennesseean, Front Page Saturday 7/24
The tone has begun to change, perhaps, at The Nashville Tennessean. The most loyal Democrat paper ever published, they've never seen a idea to expand government or spend more tax dollars they don't just love. All the ills of the world exist because Republicans are allowed to exist. AlGore cut his teeth there (how did that happen? Maybe his daddy made a couple of phone calls?), and is their patron saint.
They've stuck to the Party Line, even as their circulation shrinks, and their readership lets them know how unhappy they are. Ni modo, ya'll. We're the Tennessean, we know better!
Last month, it was this:
It's all them tax breaks--that's why the gubbermint is in trouble. We needs us more taxes! That'll fix our problems!
The back-pedaling may be finally beginning, as reality is setting in.
Now, this:
Only OS found this on the front page of the paper on Saturday. It's an AP story, not generated locally. But the editors exercised the choice to put it on the front page, and to leave that little nugget in the fourth paragraph--that little 'should he seek re-election' zinger. This from the folks who breathlessly covered every word and detail of The One's historic salvation of our poor nation, etc. etc.
WASHINGTON — New estimates from the White House on Friday predict the budget deficit will reach a record $1.47 trillion this year. The government is borrowing 41 cents of every dollar it spends.
That's actually a little better than the administration predicted in February.
The new estimates paint a grim unemployment picture as the economy experiences a relatively jobless recovery. The unemployment rate, now averaging 9.5 percent, would average 9 percent next year under the new estimates.
The Office of Management and Budget report has ominous news for President Barack Obama should he seek re-election in 2012: a still-high unemployment rate of 8.1 percent. That would be well above normal, which is closer to a rate of 5.5 percent to 6 percent. Private economists don't think the unemployment rate will drop to that level until well into this decade.
Hello, there!
"The U.S. economy still faces strong headwinds," the OMB report says. They include tight credit markets, a high inventory of unsold housing and retrenchment by state governments bound by balanced-budget mandates. The European debt crisis has also had an impact.
"Despite these headwinds, the administration expects economic growth and job creation to continue for the rest of 2010 and to rise in 2011 and beyond," the report says.
The report lands squarely in the middle of a raging election-year Washington debate about spending and taxes. With millions of Americans still unemployed and with tax cuts enacted during George W. Bush's presidency expiring at the end of this year, Republicans and Democrats are fighting intensely over how to create jobs while saving money.
Both parties are certain to seize upon the new numbers. Republicans have
consistently bashed Democrats for what they call out-of-control spending on things like Obama's stimulus package and the health-care overhaul. Democrats counter that the health-care bill and other initiatives will actually slash the deficit over time and create jobs.
Although the gaping deficits are of increasing concern to voters, Obama and Democrats controlling Congress are mostly taking a pass on deficit reduction this year as they await possible recommendations from his deficit commission.
While there's a slight improvement in the deficit for the current year compared with the administration's February forecast, next year's predicted $1.42 trillion worth of red ink — 37 cents of borrowing for every dollar spent — is looking worse. It's about $150 billion more than previously predicted because of still-slumping tax revenues.
The current record holder is the $1.41 trillion deficit for 2009.
Economists agree that the most important measure of the deficit is against the size of the economy. Many say a deficit of 3 percent of gross domestic product is sustainable since it would stabilize the overall debt when measured relative to the economy.
The report puts the deficit at 10 percent of GDP this year and 9.2 percent of GDP next year. It would never reach the 3 percent figure under Obama's predictions — which underestimate war costs and depend on assumptions of tax hikes that may not materialize.
OMB Director Peter Orszag said the numbers represent a "fiscal situation that requires attention."
Well, yes. Even behind those hallowed desks on Broadway in Nashville, where reality hasn't paid a visit in a long, long, time.
They've stuck to the Party Line, even as their circulation shrinks, and their readership lets them know how unhappy they are. Ni modo, ya'll. We're the Tennessean, we know better!
Last month, it was this:
It's all them tax breaks--that's why the gubbermint is in trouble. We needs us more taxes! That'll fix our problems!
The back-pedaling may be finally beginning, as reality is setting in.
Now, this:
Only OS found this on the front page of the paper on Saturday. It's an AP story, not generated locally. But the editors exercised the choice to put it on the front page, and to leave that little nugget in the fourth paragraph--that little 'should he seek re-election' zinger. This from the folks who breathlessly covered every word and detail of The One's historic salvation of our poor nation, etc. etc.
WASHINGTON — New estimates from the White House on Friday predict the budget deficit will reach a record $1.47 trillion this year. The government is borrowing 41 cents of every dollar it spends.
That's actually a little better than the administration predicted in February.
The new estimates paint a grim unemployment picture as the economy experiences a relatively jobless recovery. The unemployment rate, now averaging 9.5 percent, would average 9 percent next year under the new estimates.
The Office of Management and Budget report has ominous news for President Barack Obama should he seek re-election in 2012: a still-high unemployment rate of 8.1 percent. That would be well above normal, which is closer to a rate of 5.5 percent to 6 percent. Private economists don't think the unemployment rate will drop to that level until well into this decade.
Hello, there!
"The U.S. economy still faces strong headwinds," the OMB report says. They include tight credit markets, a high inventory of unsold housing and retrenchment by state governments bound by balanced-budget mandates. The European debt crisis has also had an impact.
"Despite these headwinds, the administration expects economic growth and job creation to continue for the rest of 2010 and to rise in 2011 and beyond," the report says.
The report lands squarely in the middle of a raging election-year Washington debate about spending and taxes. With millions of Americans still unemployed and with tax cuts enacted during George W. Bush's presidency expiring at the end of this year, Republicans and Democrats are fighting intensely over how to create jobs while saving money.
Both parties are certain to seize upon the new numbers. Republicans have
consistently bashed Democrats for what they call out-of-control spending on things like Obama's stimulus package and the health-care overhaul. Democrats counter that the health-care bill and other initiatives will actually slash the deficit over time and create jobs.
Although the gaping deficits are of increasing concern to voters, Obama and Democrats controlling Congress are mostly taking a pass on deficit reduction this year as they await possible recommendations from his deficit commission.
While there's a slight improvement in the deficit for the current year compared with the administration's February forecast, next year's predicted $1.42 trillion worth of red ink — 37 cents of borrowing for every dollar spent — is looking worse. It's about $150 billion more than previously predicted because of still-slumping tax revenues.
The current record holder is the $1.41 trillion deficit for 2009.
Economists agree that the most important measure of the deficit is against the size of the economy. Many say a deficit of 3 percent of gross domestic product is sustainable since it would stabilize the overall debt when measured relative to the economy.
The report puts the deficit at 10 percent of GDP this year and 9.2 percent of GDP next year. It would never reach the 3 percent figure under Obama's predictions — which underestimate war costs and depend on assumptions of tax hikes that may not materialize.
OMB Director Peter Orszag said the numbers represent a "fiscal situation that requires attention."
Well, yes. Even behind those hallowed desks on Broadway in Nashville, where reality hasn't paid a visit in a long, long, time.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Ya Think?: The Guv'mint Debt Balloons, And The Spending Continues
Just as the states and counties are seeing tax receipts crater, the Federal government is seeing a shortfall in income, just as Congress and the White House gleefully ramp up spending in preparation for the European-style welfare state envisioned for us all.
From Reuters, yesterday.
The United States posted an $82.69 billion deficit in April, nearly four times the $20.91 billion shortfall registered in April 2009 and the largest on record for that month, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.
It was more than twice the $40-billion deficit that Wall Street economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast and was striking since April marks the filing deadline for individual income taxes that are the main source of government revenue.
Department officials said that in prior years, there was a surplus during April in 43 out of the past 56 years.
The government has now posted 19 consecutive monthly budget deficits, the longest string of shortfalls on record.
Charmingly, at the very bottom of the article, is this quote:
White House budget director Peter Orszag told Reuters Insider in an interview on Wednesday that the United States must tackle its deficits quickly to avoid the kind of debt crisis that hit Greece.
Hey-thar', Mister Orzag! Don't tell us! We're already aware of the situation.
Tell your !!!****!!! boss!
From Reuters, yesterday.
The United States posted an $82.69 billion deficit in April, nearly four times the $20.91 billion shortfall registered in April 2009 and the largest on record for that month, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.
It was more than twice the $40-billion deficit that Wall Street economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast and was striking since April marks the filing deadline for individual income taxes that are the main source of government revenue.
Department officials said that in prior years, there was a surplus during April in 43 out of the past 56 years.
The government has now posted 19 consecutive monthly budget deficits, the longest string of shortfalls on record.
Charmingly, at the very bottom of the article, is this quote:
White House budget director Peter Orszag told Reuters Insider in an interview on Wednesday that the United States must tackle its deficits quickly to avoid the kind of debt crisis that hit Greece.
Hey-thar', Mister Orzag! Don't tell us! We're already aware of the situation.
Tell your !!!****!!! boss!
Friday, April 3, 2009
The Definition of a Blue-Dog Democrat
Yes, once again, we have our good Congressman John Tanner playing the ends against the middle.
The 'Guest Columnist' insertion in the local paper was a piece submitted under Rep. Tanner's name (seriously, friends, listen to the guy talk; hard to believe he can write anything of this length with correct grammar).
The title? Drum-roll, please! We Must Restore Fiscal Responsibility
The Honorable Member then explains how everything that has gone wrong was the fault of the evil Republicans; easy to do, since a lot of it can be laid at their feet. He intones that 'The borrow-and-spend policy down which our country has begun poses at least two serious threats', and goes on to name the spectre that the Chinese might not want to buy our T-bills(They expect to get paid back!), and our weakened place in the world and its foreign policy implications.
So, this would be a reason to not vote for the TARP, the 'Stimulus' and a budget that runs well over ONE TRILLION in deficits into the endless future, right?
WRONG! He then goes on to explain that despite all these things, he just had to vote for the 'Stimulus Bill'--he had already voted for the TARP(he just 'had to', you know), and signalled that he would be voting for the 2010 budget.
And, indeed he did!
So, what's the definition of a Blue-Dog Democrat?
He howls at the moon, declaring his fealty to the conservative values of his district. But when his masters(Pelosi, Frank, Reid, and Obama) command, he rolls over and plays dead.
Check his congressional home page:
Cries of outrage against the mounting national debt, and never a mention of his votes that make it possible.
Our grandchildren will curse our memories for allowing him and his to get away with this.
The 'Guest Columnist' insertion in the local paper was a piece submitted under Rep. Tanner's name (seriously, friends, listen to the guy talk; hard to believe he can write anything of this length with correct grammar).
The title? Drum-roll, please! We Must Restore Fiscal Responsibility
The Honorable Member then explains how everything that has gone wrong was the fault of the evil Republicans; easy to do, since a lot of it can be laid at their feet. He intones that 'The borrow-and-spend policy down which our country has begun poses at least two serious threats', and goes on to name the spectre that the Chinese might not want to buy our T-bills(They expect to get paid back!), and our weakened place in the world and its foreign policy implications.
So, this would be a reason to not vote for the TARP, the 'Stimulus' and a budget that runs well over ONE TRILLION in deficits into the endless future, right?
WRONG! He then goes on to explain that despite all these things, he just had to vote for the 'Stimulus Bill'--he had already voted for the TARP(he just 'had to', you know), and signalled that he would be voting for the 2010 budget.
And, indeed he did!
So, what's the definition of a Blue-Dog Democrat?
He howls at the moon, declaring his fealty to the conservative values of his district. But when his masters(Pelosi, Frank, Reid, and Obama) command, he rolls over and plays dead.
Check his congressional home page:
Cries of outrage against the mounting national debt, and never a mention of his votes that make it possible.
Our grandchildren will curse our memories for allowing him and his to get away with this.
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