Admin. official: Obama to appoint deficit panel By PHILIP ELLIOTT Associated Press Feb 16, 2010 “WASHINGTON — Determined to have a deficit commission with or without Congress' backing, President Barack Obama plans to announce on Thursday that he is establishing a panel similar to — although weaker than_ the one lawmakers rejected. Former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles and former Republican Senate Whip Alan Simpson would lead the panel, a senior administration official said Tuesday. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the president's executive order creating the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform had not been announced.” http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gUda5jdroyFkM8ViO6zUVJ-Mu8ZgD9DTIHGO0
CBO: Federal deficit projected at $1.35T Associated Press Jan 26, 2010 By ANDREW TAYLORThe Associated Press “WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Tuesday rejected a plan backed by President Barack Obama to create a bipartisan task force to tackle the federal deficit this year, despite glaring new figures showing the enormity of the red-ink threat. ” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/26/AR2010012600173.html
Obama to freeze pay of top government officials Washington Post Jan 26, 2010 President Obama will freeze the salaries of senior White House officials and other top political appointees and eliminate bonuses for all political appointees, the White House said Tuesday. The payroll decision will likely get a mention in Wednesday's State of the Union address, officials said. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/01/obama_issues_pay_freeze_will_n.html?hpid=topnews
CBO Says Health Bill Would Cost $829 Billion PBS Oct 07, 2009 The Senate Finance Committee's health care reform plan would cost $829 billion over 10 years, but would meet President Barack Obama's goal of reducing the federal budget deficit by 2019, according to a cost estimate released Wednesday http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/health/july-dec09/cbo_10-07.html
“Death Panels” FactCheck.org “In an Aug. 20 appearance on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," former New York Lt. Gov. (and health care legislation critic) Betsy McCaughey referred to our organization as "spot-check dot org," claiming we failed to adequately read the House health care bill. McCaughey is the source of the false claim that the bill calls for mandatory counseling for seniors "to do what’s in society’s best interest … and cut your life short." As we said in our article "False Euthanasia Claims," McCaughey misinterprets the bill. It calls for Medicare to pay for voluntary counseling sessions between seniors and their doctors on what care they want to receive at the end of their lives. Such sessions focus on living wills or designating a health care proxy, among other considerations. On "The Daily Show," McCaughey continued to assert that such counseling sessions were mandatory.” http://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/spotcheckorg-we-disagree/
When ‘Deficit’ Isn’t a Dirty Word NY Times March 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/business/economy/22econ.html?emc=eta1 Mark Zandi Chief Economist Moodys.com: Zandi on Stimulus . http://www.economy.com/mark-zandi/default.asp?src=economy_homepage Economists Debate the Quickest Cure NY Times Jan 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/business/19stimulus.html?_r=1 Partisanship Emerges in Stimulus Debate US News Feb 2009 http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_090209.htm Stimulus Debate PRO: Paul Krugman, Princeton Univ. http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/?scp=2&sq=PAUL%20KRUGMAN&st=cse CON: Michael Thompson http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1455345/economic_stimulus_package_and_national.html
David Walker (former Comptroller General, President of Peter G. Petersen Institute) Interview on Stimulus Plan “Mr. Walker expressed skepticism about the $500-per-person and $1,000-per-couple "Making Work Pay" tax credits, which the administration wants to distribute to 95 percent of workers. "Ninety-five percent is not 'targeted,'" Mr. Walker said. ” http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/27/stimulus-bill-a-moving-target/
Obama Unveils New Projects, Says Economy Has ‘Long Way to Go’ Bloomberg June 8, 2009 By Kim Chipman
“June 8 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama, trying to bolster an economy he says still has a “long way to go,” announced 10 projects aimed at creating or saving more than 600,000 jobs, according to the administration.
The plans are meant to boost the effectiveness of a $787 billion stimulus measure sought by Obama and approved by Congress in February. The projects will be a key focus of recovery efforts during the next three months and create or save four times more jobs than during the first 100 days since the rescue bill became law, according to a White House news release. “ http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abeMQoRRXbok
Federal budget deficit sets March record as it soars to $192.3B USA Today April 10, 2009 By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said Friday that the budget deficit soared to $192.3 billion in March and is nearing $1 trillion just halfway through the budget year, largely because of mounting costs of the financial bailout and recession. Last month's deficit, a record for March, was significantly higher than the $150 billion that economists expected. The deficit already totals $956.8 billion for the first six months of the budget year, also a record for that period. The Obama administration projects the deficit for the entire year will hit $1.75 trillion. http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-04-10-march-budget-deficit_N.htm
Budget projects deficit will quadruple, jump to $1.75T USA TODAY Feb 26, 2009 WASHINGTON — Federal deficits would remain above $500 billion annually for the next decade under the budget proposed by President Obama Thursday, sending the federal debt soaring to $23 trillion by 2019. The deficit this year would jump to a record $1.75 trillion, nearly quadrupling the 2008 figure. http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-02-26-deficit_N.htm Official: Obama aims to halve federal deficit USA Today Feb 22, 2009 http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-02-21-obama-deficit_N.htm?POE=click-refer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Obama wants to cut the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term, mostly by scaling back Iraq war spending, raising taxes on the wealthiest and streamlining government, an administration official said Saturday as the president worked to finalize his first budget request National Debt Clock draws worried glances, reactions CNN Oct 12, 2008 http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/12/national.debt.clock.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories Record deficit expected in 2009 USA Today July 28, 2008 “WASHINGTON — The White House has increased its estimate for next year's deficit to nearly $490 billion, a record figure that will saddle the next president with deepening budget problems in his first year in office, a report due out Monday shows” http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-07-27-deficit_N.htm
'Deficit hawks' revive attacks on nation's fiscal woes USA Today June 25, 2008 By Richard Wolf “WASHINGTON — Eleven years after the last major effort to balance the federal government's books, advocates of fiscal integrity are seeking to make a comeback. Most notable is Pete Peterson, a son of Greek immigrants and Wall Street chieftain who has vowed to invest $1 billion of his personal fortune to alert Americans that their government is going broke. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-06-24-budget-hawks_n.htm
“WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 — Alan Greenspan, who was chairman of the Federal Reserve for nearly two decades, in a long-awaited memoir, is harshly critical of President . . ., Vice President . . . and the Republican-controlled Congress, as abandoning their party’s principles on spending and deficits. ” “Of the presidents he worked with, Mr. Greenspan reserves his highest praise for . . ., whom he described in his book as a sponge for economic data who maintained “a consistent, disciplined focus on long-term economic growth.” http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/business/15greenspan.html?em&ex=1190001600&en=ac71669598b1a694&ei=5087%0A
Greenspan Book Criticizes . . . Wall Street Journal Sept 15, 2007
By GREG IP and EMILY STEEL September 15, 2007; Page A1
“In a withering critique of his fellow Republicans, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says in his memoir that the party to which he has belonged all his life deserved to lose power last year for forsaking its small-government principles.
In "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World," published by Penguin Press, Mr. Greenspan criticizes both congressional Republicans and President . . . for abandoning fiscal discipline.
Fuzzy . . . math You're about to hear that the budget deficit is falling. Don't believe it, warns Fortune's Allan Sloan. The deficit is much, much bigger than you think. September 4 2007: 5:21 PM EDT “(Fortune Magazine) -- There will be lots of celebrating in Washington next month when the Treasury announces that the federal budget deficit for fiscal 2007, which ends September 30, will have dropped to a mere $158 billion, give or take a few bucks.
That will be $90 billion below the reported 2006 deficit and will be toasted by the White House and Treasury as a great accomplishment.
US Trade Deficit Falls to 4-Month Low By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer Tuesday, August 14, 2007 “The U.S. trade deficit declined to a four-month low even though imports from China hit an all-time high. Demand for Chinese goods has remained strong despite recalls of unsafe products this year.
Federal deficit forecast at $477B USA TODAY Jan 27, 2004 “WASHINGTON — The federal budget deficit will reach $477 billion this year, the biggest ever in dollar terms, the Congressional Budget Office said Monday.
Earmarks Stall Legislation in the House NPR July 23, 2007 · “The House of Representatives has been having trouble moving appropriations bills with the usual earmarks — legislative hooks that lawmakers use to get funding for projects back home.
Think tank thinks U.S. economy tanking Moldova.org, Aug 15, 2007 “The Center for American Progress research group said Tuesday it sees the weakening labor and housing markets pulling U.S. economy downward this month.
Debunking One of the Worst Ideas in Economics by Charles Wheelan, Ph.D. “Let me be perfectly clear: I'm not arguing that tax cuts are bad. I'm simply pointing out that we can't pretend that tax cuts won't require reductions on the spending side to balance the budget. In fact, you can disregard every other argument in this column and think about one thing: If Laffer were right, lower taxes would never require any spending sacrifice. We could pay a mere one percent of our income in taxes and still fund all of our government spending -- and maybe more! Do you think that's really possible?” http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/economist/4065 U.S. eventually will pay for deficits By Patrick Buchanan Creators Syndicate Published: August 18, 2007
"Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid ... already exceed 40 percent of the $2.7 trillion federal budget. By 2030, their share could hit 75 percent of the present budget," writes columnist Robert Samuelson. "To keep federal spending stable as a share of the economy would mean eliminating all defense spending and most other domestic programs. ... To balance the budget with existing programs at their present economic shares would require ... tax increases of 30 percent to 50 percent - or budget deficits could quadruple." http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070818/COLUMNISTS0202/708180306/1119/COLUMNISTS
U.S. FEDERAL DEBT $10,000,000,000,000.00 Sept 30, 2008 Debt Hits 10 Trillion ! ($10 TRILLION= 10 Thousand Billion = 10 Million Million Dollars) That’s$48,000 per adult in the u.s. That’s $96,000 per married couple That could be the ave increased tax burden over years 209,279,149 U.S. adults by 2000 Census BIG DEFICITS ALWAYS = BIGGER TAXES
