Deficit Is Shrinking Quickly

[Turner Coates]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 71366.html

WASHINGTON—A rapidly shrinking federal budget deficit is upending bipartisan talks to reach a federal budget deal, illustrating the conundrum Washington faces with an improving near-term fiscal outlook but continued longer-term pressures tied to aging baby boomers.

The Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday the federal deficit is expected to shrink to $642 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, narrowing from the agency's estimate of $845 billion three months ago and sharply lower than last year's $1.087 trillion shortfall.

The agency attributed the drastic shift to higher-than-expected individual and corporate tax payments, due in part to growth and higher rates that kicked in at the beginning of the year, and large dividend payments that mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae FNMA +26.32% and Freddie Mac FMCC +26.37% plan to make to the government this year.

After four straight years of $1 trillion deficits, the country's fiscal picture is changing. A slowly recovering economy, cuts in government spending driven by periodic budget clashes, and higher taxes have narrowed the gap between what the government brings in and what it spends.

These developments have virtually halted deficit-reduction talks because politicians suddenly find they have breathing room before the next deadline requiring negotiations between political parties locked in disagreement over vastly different budget priorities.

"You can hear the air fizzing out now," said Steve Bell, a Republican and senior director at the Bipartisan Policy Center who has called for Congress to reach a budget deal. "They are just overly tired of the same fight, tearing the same scab off the same wound."

For example, lawmakers now won't face a decision over whether to raise the nation's borrowing limit until October or November, the CBO said Tuesday—much later than the summer deadline that was projected several months ago.

The Treasury Department this week is expected to give its own estimate. Many Republicans have said they planned to use the debt-limit deadline as leverage to force new spending cuts and other budget changes.

The White House and Republicans have been locked in a budget fight since 2011, leading to a number of piecemeal deals that have reduced the deficit by both raising taxes and cutting spending. White House officials have said they want more tax increases while Republicans have called for structural changes to Medicare and Medicaid, the two sprawling government health-care programs, while saying they won't back new tax increases.

Earlier this year, a bipartisan effort was under way to lock in more deficit cuts, particularly later in the decade, but those talks have stalled in recent weeks, in part because of the shrinking deficit.

The CBO said the improving deficit picture would continue for several years but would reverse course in 2016, when spending picks up as a share of the economy and revenue levels off. It said Medicare and Social Security would begin to consume an even larger share of the budget. By 2023, Social Security and government health-care spending is expected to hit $3 trillion, or half the budget.

Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.), asked if the smaller deficit makes it harder to forge a long-term budget deal, said: "It makes things difficult but I don't think anyone who has been paying attention to this thinks we can continue to put off the fiscal questions before us."

The CBO said the deficit for fiscal 2013 is projected to be 4.0% of gross domestic product, still higher than historical averages but down from 7.0% in 2012 and 10.1% in 2009.

The White House and several budget think tanks have said the deficit should be somewhere below 3% of GDP, but many Republicans have said policy makers should strive to eliminate annual deficits entirely.

The CBO said its lower deficit projection for this year reflects higher tax receipts—driven by higher individual and corporate income and one-time moves made by wealthier taxpayers to absorb a tax hit in late 2012 rather than wait until higher tax rates began in 2013 as part of the January fiscal-cliff deal. It also includes an expected $95 billion in dividends from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Both firms were bailed out by taxpayers in 2008 and have been in government conservatorship since.

The CBO said that a number of factors—including lower projections for spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security—led it to significantly lower its projections for cumulative deficits over the next 10 years. The CBO on Tuesday estimated the total gap between government spending and revenue from 2014 until 2023 would be $6.3 trillion—$618 billion less than it projected in February.

While the deficit is shrinking, the CBO said the federal debt—all the borrowing accumulated by the government over the years—is expected to dip slightly and then begin climbing in 2019, remaining above 70% of GDP. Over the past 40 years, debt as a share of GDP has averaged 39%.

"Such high and rising debt later in the coming decade would have serious negative consequences," the CBO said.

[Turner Coates]

[Constantine]

[Moggio]

^^^^^^^^^^^^




The US National Debt when Bush Jnr. exited in 2009:

10.6 TRILLION

The current US National Debt under Obama (more than ALL 40+ Presidents COMBINED and in ONLY less than 4 years):

16.8 TRILLION+

[Turner Coates]

[Dr J Jones]

The deficit may be shrinking...but unfortunately so is the regime's credibility...



What a bunch of lying peices of shit


Standing by for the inevitable "But Bush" deflections...




Even Chris Mathews has soured on Obama...The Thrill is gone...

[Stoner]

Funnily enough, most people who voted for Obama still don't regret doing so in light of the alternative.

[Dr J Jones]

yeah...that whole lesser of two evils is working so well for this country.

A liar with a D next to his name is apparently better than a liar with a R next to his name.

[Turner Coates]

Kinder and gentler liars.

[Dr J Jones]

history repeats itself.
at least Nixon had the decency and respect for the office to resign.

[Turner Coates]

[Stoner]

Kinder and gentler liars.

With better economic plans.

[Turner Coates]

Kinder and gentler liars.

With better economic plans.

Works for me.

[Dr J Jones]

Hey look...it's the other idiot that wasn't qualified to be president. You know..right before we got the current unqualified liar...

USA USA USA!

[Tommy2Tone84]

^^^^^^^^^^^^




The US National Debt when Bush Jnr. exited in 2009:

10.6 TRILLION

The current US National Debt under Obama (more than ALL 40+ Presidents COMBINED and in ONLY less than 4 years):

16.8 TRILLION+

Try again Moggio

http://www.snopes.com/politics/politici ... aldebt.asp

[Tommy2Tone84]

Hey look...it's the other idiot that wasn't qualified to be president. You know..right before we got the current unqualified liar...

USA USA USA!

[Dr J Jones]

Hey look...it's the other idiot that wasn't qualified to be president. You know..right before we got the current unqualified liar...

USA USA USA!

Please give a me a reason to think differently. Barack and Holder are fucking liars. They have repeatedly admitted that they have no clue what is going on. I'm not sure where the tin foil hat thing plays into that..Is there a conspiracy against Barack's intelligence or something?

I suppose I could post a picture of a sheep drinking Kool Aid...

Barack is unqualified to be president and is a liar...
Facts are a funny thing.

[Tommy2Tone84]

Barack is unqualified to be president and is a liar...
Facts are a funny thing.

Yes, facts are funny things. Before we go any further, explain to me how Barack is unqualified to be president?

[Dr J Jones]

Barack is unqualified to be president and is a liar...
Facts are a funny thing.

Yes, facts are funny things. Before we go any further, explain to me how Barack is unqualified to be president?

I asked you first....


I think his shitty performance speaks for itself. At least to people who can think for themselves and can put integrity before ideology

He is either a liar, or inept or both.....

Even Chris Matthews who spends most of his day slobbering on Barack's cock has said that Barry has no interest in governing. That is not his strong suit. He likes to campaign and give speeches, oh..and blame everyone else for the shitty government that he is supposed to be running.

And then that idiot Axelrod says that the government is too vast for Barack to know what is going on. Sorry but this is not ok to me. If the government is too big for Barack to manage then we either need to shrink it or get a guy who can manage it.

And his criminal AG Holder can only say "I don't Know" It wasn't me" "I had no idea"...REALLY? Then can we maybe get and AG that does know and does have an idea. This idiot makes Alberto Gonzalez look competent.

Barack's regime is no better than Bush's regime.

They are all a disgrace...and no...Mitt Fucking Romney wouldn't have been any better...

what is with the idiot US voters SETTLING for the lesser of two evils?

This country is fucked!

[Danzig in the Dark]

They are all a disgrace...and no...Mitt Fucking Romney wouldn't have been any better...

what is with the idiot US voters SETTLING for the lesser of two evils?

This country is fucked!

Were there more suitable candidates? If so, name them.

[Dr J Jones]

They are all shit. But instead of demanding better more qualified candidates the american voter is willing to settle for shit...as long as THEIR pet projects and special interests get funding and THEIR agenda is moved forward.

It's pretty fucking pathetic.

None of the above should be on EVERY primary ballot.

[Dr J Jones]

and I guess what's even more pathetic is the american voter's unwillingness to hold their elected officials accountable for their actions once they are in office. They seem to enjoy being lied to and misled..and I'm not just talking about the current felonious regime but all the ones who came before it.

[Sheep_Mafia]

Kinder and gentler liars.

With better economic plans.

What plans would those be? You actually see a plan?

[Sheep_Mafia]

Yes, facts are funny things. Before we go any further, explain to me how Barack is unqualified to be president?

You can't be serious. His performance at his job clearly illustrates that he was and still is in way over his head. His job is President of the United States, not petulent child. His job is not to campaign instead of govern. His job is not to always say he didn't know about anything and what he does know about is someone else's fault.

There was nothing in his background, including that brief stint in Congress that says he was ready for this job. Had he accomplished more in his life from a business or even political standpoint prior to running for President, he might have an actual inkling on how to do his job.

Your job is to vote properly next time. Let's see if you are going to get yourself qualified enough to do that right. Same goes for the rest of you Obama voters.

[eddie lee roth]

Barack's regime is no better than Bush's regime.

They are all a disgrace...and no...Mitt Fucking Romney wouldn't have been any better...

what is with the idiot US voters SETTLING for the lesser of two evils?

This country is fucked!

They are all shit. But instead of demanding better more qualified candidates the american voter is willing to settle for shit...as long as THEIR pet projects and special interests get funding and THEIR agenda is moved forward.

It's pretty fucking pathetic.

None of the above should be on EVERY primary ballot.

and I guess what's even more pathetic is the american voter's unwillingness to hold their elected officials accountable for their actions once they are in office. They seem to enjoy being lied to and misled..and I'm not just talking about the current felonious regime but all the ones who came before it.

What exactly are you doing about it?

[Danzig in the Dark]

They are all shit. But instead of demanding better more qualified candidates the american voter is willing to settle for shit...as long as THEIR pet projects and special interests get funding and THEIR agenda is moved forward.

It's pretty fucking pathetic.

None of the above should be on EVERY primary ballot.

What an original idea. This solves everything.

[Dr J Jones]

Liberals deflect more than anyone i have ever seen. It's fucking mind boggling.

If there were actually none of the above then they would be FORCED to put up a qualified candidate. .

[Dr J Jones]

Barack's regime is no better than Bush's regime.

They are all a disgrace...and no...Mitt Fucking Romney wouldn't have been any better...

what is with the idiot US voters SETTLING for the lesser of two evils?

This country is fucked!

They are all shit. But instead of demanding better more qualified candidates the american voter is willing to settle for shit...as long as THEIR pet projects and special interests get funding and THEIR agenda is moved forward.

It's pretty fucking pathetic.

None of the above should be on EVERY primary ballot.

and I guess what's even more pathetic is the american voter's unwillingness to hold their elected officials accountable for their actions once they are in office. They seem to enjoy being lied to and misled..and I'm not just talking about the current felonious regime but all the ones who came before it.

What exactly are you doing about it?

I am working at my local and state level to get rid of establishment candidates..

and you?

[Sheep_Mafia]

Liberals deflect more than anyone i have ever seen. It's fucking mind boggling.

Which is why they continue to vote the way they do. Also why they have no issue with the Attorney General repeatedly saying he doesn't know what's going on in his Justice Department, Hillary didn't know what was going on in her State Department and Obama doesn't know what's going on in much of anything.

[Danzig in the Dark]

Liberals deflect more than anyone i have ever seen. It's fucking mind boggling.

If there were actually none of the above then they would be FORCED to put up a qualified candidate. .

You chastised voters for failing to select 'qualified' candidates and when prompted for suggestions for more suitable candidates, you responded that none exist. If you can't find a 'qualified' candidate to support, how do you expect others to do so?

Your job is to vote properly next time. Let's see if you are going to get yourself qualified enough to do that right. Same goes for the rest of you Obama voters.

Two questions:
What criteria will you use to determine whether Tommy voted properly?

What exactly are your qualifications?