"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have"
Thomas Jefferson

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Candygram

The White House announced this little nugget yesterday. Good thing this new healthcare plan will be deficit neutral. Although, the same CBO that the Great One's administration now agrees with is predicting the healthcare will be a financial bomb.

While the WH predicted the stimulus would bring unemployment below 8% and cash for clunkers would last for months, to which they were both wrong. 

CBO or WH - who do you believe?
9 Trillion Dollar Man
The Obama administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit projection to roughly $9 trillion from $7.108 trillion in a report next week, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday
“The new forecasts are based on new data that reflect how severe the economic downturn was in the late fall of last year and the winter of this year,” said the official, who is familiar with the plans.
“Our budget projections are now in line with the spring and summer projections that the Congressional Budget Office put out.”
The CBO said in June that deficits between 2010 and 2019 would total $9.1 trillion.

22 comments:

Danny M. Francis (Eyepublius) said...

You confuse "national debt" and "deficit spending" (deficit spedning drives up the debt).

* Our current U.S. debt is about $11.7 trillion.

* Our deficit spending stands at about $1.275 trillion (much of that from foreign borrowing/they hold our IOU's).

It is likely the deficit will go higher as we try to get out of this fiscal/economic hole the GOP, yes, the GOP drove us into.

Remember all those Bush tax cuts and excessive spending -- cuts w/massive spending and few revenues incoming caused this mess more than anything else besides GREED.

BL: The Obama administration is forecasting that the budget deficit would rise to an all-time high of 1.84 trillion dollars in the current fiscal year (about four times the record set last year and yes, that is what spending does).

Under the administration's estimates, the 1.84-trillion-dollar deficit will be followed by a red ink of 1.26 trillion dollars in 2010, and will never dip below 500 billion dollars over the next decade.

* The administration estimates the deficits will total $7.1 trillion dollars from 2010 to 2019.

Summary: The worsening budget deficit reflects the (1) soaring costs of the government's economic stimulus package and (2) financial rescue program, and (3) the recession, which has resulted in sharp decline in tax revenue.

We are in deep deep ditch that Mr. Almost a Conservative, Trickle-down, Leave-the-Market- Alone, Geo. W. Bush drove us into.

We have a long way to go, but guess what? We will get out of this hole.

But, we all must pull on the same rope that drags the national truck out of that deep deep hole.

We used to call it the American way - what the hell happened?

— dmf

hermit thrush said...

another good comment from dan.

i want to add that i think part of piv's critique, or at least an implicit part of it, is completely correct: these budget revisions are occurring because the administration had too optimistic a take on the economy at the beginning of the year.

the main reason unemployment has gone higher than the administration forecasted is not because the stimulus failed; fiscal stimulus is slow, no one claimed it would greatly improve the employment siutation this soon, and its peak effect is only supposed to be felt late next year.

rather, the reason is that the administration misjudged the economy -- things were worse than they thought. which means that the stimulus was almost certainly too small.

City Watch said...

I'm not confusing anything Dan.

This was a White House announcement - word for word

Danny M. Francis (Eyepublius) said...

From Scozzafava on health care - taken directly from her homepage:

"Having spent most of the past week in the hospital with my Dad, I have a deeper appreciation for the need to change our health care system. Access and affordability remain two of the most important issues to residents of the 23rd Congressional District. My father was driven over 100 miles to access the doctors and the specialists he needed. He is fortunate to have a good, private health insurance plan, but I am still left wondering how his care would have been impacted by the Obama health care proposal.

"Health care reform is an important topic that requires an open and honest dialogue. People need solutions, not hyperactive rhetoric. And while government has a role to play in providing health care to the uninsured, it cannot replace or crowd out private insurance. Today, I am outlining some of my thoughts on the reforms being discussed in our nation's capital and across the country, including here in the 23rd Congressional District."

Then she spews the basic same old same old GOP tried, true and typical BS ... even if she wins, she would be in a huge minority -- so whatever she spews matters not in the grand scheme.

But, it nice to know she holds the same old rabid GOP views about reform of health care.

Scozzafava on Health Care

— dmf

Danny M. Francis (Eyepublius) said...

IVY: The "you" was not necessarily directed at you, per se, IVY. It was more directed at the "you's" who stop by this watering hole and drink from trough of enlightenment.

Danny M. Francis (Eyepublius) said...

I've added a new link at my main 23 District Blog page to be "fair and balanced" and easy tracking:
Candidate BS Box

— dmf

Anonymous said...

And to think I was supporting Dan when he was considering his run for congress. Meboy, you're reverted to the selective reasoning of Frogs and party line thinkers. But that's ok. We govment people be fine. Bottom line, what raises government spending is good for us.

Dan, if you wish to try to paint the Great One's spending record as moderate and blame the numbers on GW, you should partake of our health plan and get tested for whatever ails you. Semantics does not explain the huge expenditures that this Great Leader and First Black Prezident has lavashed upon us. I would think, given the fact that you have family, that you would be concerned about these unsustainable numbers. You've now gone back to the party line. Like the Frog, nothing is more important that your party. Disappointing. I expected this from him/her. You were thinking on your own there, for a while.

You keep quoting those administration estimates, Dan. Like the unemployment numbers, they carry a lot of weight, with party line folk, and Frogs.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and Dan, sorry to pull a Wiley on you, but one more thing. You mention massive spending that took place under GW. We here on the PIV thing have debated every spending issue that has come up over the years and months we've been around. I have never heard you oppose any spending issue whatsoever. Maybe a defense thing here and there, but when it comes to spending, you love it. Then you come back and cry about overspending. Now Frog is always for more spending. Which in a way, is a much more honest approach. There is no end to what that creature will spend. But he makes no bones about it. Stimulus spending, buyouts, all that stuff he clearly loves. But I'll give him/her one thing, he doesn't croak one way then change his "tune" later on. He's consistant. Govment's good, so give it more money. That's what he/she believes. You, on the other hand, try to have it both ways.

In some ways you are slippperier than the Frog.

Danny M. Francis (Eyepublius) said...

Anonymous 7:42 and 7:52...

That's your opinion - but, sadly, you are [again] about my view and my postings. Citing facts for or against the Obama TEAM or the Bush TEAM is the right thing to do and I will whenever necessary and NOT for partisan gain -- not one bit.

The truth matters with me and it should with you, too ... but, nice try, though.

~ dmf

Anonymous said...

You know I still like ya, Dan. I just think government is not our friend, not all the time. We've reached a point where we have to limit spending, but no one seems to have the will to do so. Bigger govment means less freedom. You are more informed than I about many of govment's workings, as you seem to commit more time to it. That's fine. I've become disgusted with all politicians. I just don't understand how you and so many others seem to have this underlying faith in a government that grows and grows, all while our future and the future of our kids becomes less and less secure. And don't tell me how "we" are the government, that the government is us. That ceased to be true long ago. Government largely serves itself. And it ain't a party thing, as some have come to believe.

You have a good weekend, my friend.
Sincerely

Anonymous said...

somebody orter start blaming Greenspan for some of this mess- he "didn't see it coming!!"

LaBouffe said...

"In some ways you are slippperier than the Frog."

I am of French Canadian descent and a contributer to my community and I resent the racial slurs that are allowed to be posted on a blog written by a politician that represents us at the county level.

Earthbob said...

The right thing to do is to let our elected officials and candidates for elected office from both parties hear these words:

We simply cannot afford ourselves.

This is not new.

Simply put, these words have been ignored.

When Jefferson County raised the Sales Tax approximately 6 years ago, there were warnings that a Recession could hurt that type of financial strategy.

Economic times appeared stable at that time.

During President Bush's tenure rebates were issued as a strategy to avoid the impacts of a Recession.

Recession was on the radar, but did our local governments see it as the Achilles Heal to their Sales Tax Strategy and make adjustments?

Evidently they did not.

The Last Quarter in 2009 saw private sector layoffs. The local governments used attrition.

This Summer, The Chairman of the County Finance and Rules Committee wrote a letter about a revenue shortfall.

The flaw in the Sales Tax Revenue Strategy is the inability of our elected officials to adjust.

Is it better late than never?

What doesn't bend, breaks.

When the federal government sent up a flare about a Recession, in the form of rebate checks, is when planning and implementation should have been undertaken.

The crisis is here, today.

Weening our government from Tax Revenue is NOT going to occur.

The time has come to throw out the list of "important items" and determine what "urgent items" must be accomplished.

Good Management is the ability to work with too few resources.

Any fool can manage with a surplus of resources.

What are we paying for that we do not need?

Too many person hours? Too many projects?

At the very least we have to work with what we have. If we can not afford what we have, we must reduce or eliminate.

The private sector does it.

This past Winter I spoke Mayor Graham during the City Council's Budget Process. Combining Planning and Engineering was forwarded as a way to reduce person hours and continue needed projects.

The "deck" situation demonstrates how different departments perform without the Council's awareness.

All local governments must contend with the "Pension Elephant".

It is growing, and there is nothing local governments can do, other than waiting to see how much that cost will grow.

We simply can not afford ourselves.

Avoiding costs is just as important as raising revenues.

The time has come for the planners to become the doers.

It starts at home. National and State Budgets are the impacts we are dealt.

A special note to my anonymous friend: I did not use the word proce....oops!)

hermit thrush said...

dear labouffe,
it's actually not a racial slur -- or at least, it's not intended as one. our wingnutty friend's thinking goes that "hermit" rhymes with "kermit," which leads to "frog," simple as that.

it's been pointed out to him numerous times that "frog" is an offensive word to so casually throw around in nny, but he doesn't care! he'd much rather continue to be rude and disrespectful.

Danny M. Francis (Eyepublius) said...

earth bob: very good post.

So, it is the money? Who'da thunk it?

Healthcare and Seniors Both in Trouble


— dmf

LaBouffe said...

"it's been pointed out to him numerous times that "frog" is an offensive word to so casually throw around in nny, but he doesn't care! he'd much rather continue to be rude and disrespectful."

The use of the term in these days in NNY caught me off guard. Then you are telling me he is not really a racist, just ignorant as well as rude and disrespectful.

Thanks for the clarification, hermit thrush

Anonymous said...

Yeah, that's it, Frenchy. And Froggie. I'm rude and disrespectful. That's why I use hateful words like "Frog".

I'd tell you both to grow up but there doesn't seem to be much chance of that event taking place.

You folks must really take yourselves seriously.

Anonymous said...

EB, atta boy EB. EB, I read the whole thing and I understood everything you said. My attention span usually doesn't allow me to get to the end of one of your deals, but I got to the end of this one. I agree with you. And I agree that we can't expect govment to change. They just give us what we seem to want to buy our votes and too many of us think the money comes from somewhere else.

I'm with ya, EB. My little brain could process the entire missive.

Anonymous said...

Anon: 8:08

Use either of those terms in a bar in downtown Massena and you will get your ass kicked.

You proved their point.

Anonymous said...

Very good. No Frogs in Massena.

Threats. Well done, fool.

Anonymous said...

My dad told me how you Frenchies were absolutely fearless in defending the honor of your girfriends and dogs. Being a guy who traveled a lot in '42-'45, he said you guys didn't have much trouble with other countries, primarily Germans, streaming over your border and eatin' your good food at a discount. I guess going after your women didn't hit home as hard as going after your bars. We all have our priorities. From how tough you talk you must have been doing a lot of working out since then. And you'll have to borrow the guns from someone, as your govment won't allow you to have any of your own.

Anonymous said...

12:45 AM
bwaaahaaaawaaa something like that.Good one hahaha

Live Blogging