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Latest Deficit Figures

Started by Whizbang, August 16, 2007, 13:35 hrs

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Whizbang

The government has a bad habit of advertising the "reduction in trade deficit" as though the deficit is actually shrinking,  The statement is completely deceptive.  What is really meant is that the projected year's trade deficit that would be added to the current deficit has been reduced.  That is a bit like saying to a drowning man who is headed for a perilous waterfall that the river is now not flowing quite as fast as it was.

Republicans want to cut taxes, which increases revenue; Democrats want to increases taxes which increases taxes.  The irony is that the final destination is the same.  While a reduction in the tax rate does increase taxable revenue, it does not address the evil of spending more than is taken in.  The added revenue just inspires congress to want to spend more.  While Democrats say that they would increase taxes to cover the deficit, the net result is a stifling of the economy and causing recession which reduces the taxable capital.  Neither is the answer until spending is reduced.  Don't hold your breath because it is not going to happen without supernatural correction.  Government is set up just like a business to grow, and it has no competition to bring it into alignment.  When I was a summer student "goofoff" at Red River Army Depot near Texarkana years ago, there were continual awards being given for"cost savings".  That was a big joke because the saving were always tacked on to overtime pay at the end of the fiscal year so that the budget would not get cut.  It is an indisputable fact of government life that government does not really ever cut costs.  The savings are just funneled somewhere else.

Here are the latest tax and deficit figures:

2,344,000,000,000 (trillion)---------------------is current projected budget
11,320,737,617,003(trillion)---------------------current national debt
----------------------------------
13,664,737,617,003(trillion)-------------------------current total taxes owed by all Americans to cover the ripoff

US Population estimate 2007----301,880,000 (million)
Taxes per person---45,265.00 for this year in order to pay it all off
Family of four taxes-------181,060 for this year in order to pay it all off

In addition to:
Balance of Trade Deficit---780,000,000,000 (billion)



Not coincidentally, this deficit is occurring during the period of switching heavily to Chinese imports, hence to a deficit of American workers, who would have kept us in the black.  It cannot be blamed on one party above the other because the trend began in a Republican period and was then almost balanced during the Clinton years before starting to take a dive before the current administration came in.  It is purely market related and not administration related.  Another bit of irony here is that the more we demand from China, the more we must pay to Saudi Arabia for oil because the Chinese industrial revolution demands more oil to fire its steel making ovens. 

People wonder why the stock market is quivering.  Can you imagine a McDonald's employee paying over three times in taxes above what he makes? 

The underlying reason for the out-of-control government is that it was first formed on a base of not trusting each other.  That distrust was justified because tyrannical kings had plundered the subjects for millennia.  As a result, the US government was formed based on a distrust of each other, and we got a government that cannot be trusted.  Whether you are a Christian or not, you would find it more than a bit absurd that the government has chosen to take the Oath of Office on the very book (the Bible) that plainly says not to take oaths because they are evil.  A man's word (generically speaking) is to be reliable.   Any additional promise is simply telling people that his word is not reliable.  Now is the net result proof positive or what?

pat

Jeez Whiz, is there anything out there that you have a good word for? I get too depressed to read your poasts.

Anyway, here�s another one for you.
Cost of War

And this.
Population of US (in millions, not billions).
SeaSonic S12 550W, Athlon 64 X2 6000+, Asus M2N SLI-Deluxe, nvidia 9600 GSO, 2x2 gig Crucial Ballistix, LG DVD/RW, 2x Western Digital Black Edition 640gb,  SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22", Canon PIXMA MP600,  Logitech X-230 speakers, Logitech Comfort Duo keyboard & Mouse, Windows 7 64 Home Premium & Vista 64

Whizbang

Oops, glad you caught that on the US Pop.   :o 

I read a calculation on the world population if everyone were put in the same place and given a 3 foot X 3 foot square to sit in.  Surprisingly, the total area is just a bit larger than the state of Rhode Island.  I would hate to be caught in the middle of that gathering in the middle of a hail storm though, or if the nearest restroom had one million people in line.   ;D

pat

Well that is good to know, if I�m ever going to Rhode Island. I�ll be sure to use the facilities in Connecticut or Massachusetts first.
SeaSonic S12 550W, Athlon 64 X2 6000+, Asus M2N SLI-Deluxe, nvidia 9600 GSO, 2x2 gig Crucial Ballistix, LG DVD/RW, 2x Western Digital Black Edition 640gb,  SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22", Canon PIXMA MP600,  Logitech X-230 speakers, Logitech Comfort Duo keyboard & Mouse, Windows 7 64 Home Premium & Vista 64

Ace

GEEZ LOUISE finally something I KNOW something about.. It's about criminy time.

Ok; I've been to Rhode Island.  Twice.  First time, on a train, around 1980.  2nd time we drove there in the Beretta...  From Indiana.  I thought it didn't look that far (hah) and wound up leaving at 6 am and rolling in to the island (near Newport) at 11 pm.  One way.  Geez. Connecticut was dark, and far.  Went past Mystic in the night.  Went back later to tour.  We crossed the bridge to Jamestown, and it was so stupid dark we didn't even know it was a bridge.

Drove up to Providence, and went to the airport and zoo.  Golfed on one rock hard 9 hole course.  Took pictures.  I like Rhode Island; I like the ocean and the rocky beaches that smell of fish.  Went to a topiary garden, and did the mansion tours, and the Newport Tennis Hall of Fame. 

Ok, so anyway, as far as your question... no, it wasn't that crowded.  In fact, I thought it was pretty open and unpopulated, for a little rocky place.  The first trip was also when we bar-hopped, then went to Cape Cod and Boston the next day...  And saw Plymouth Rock.  And, compared it to Pandas.  So; historic, as well as scenic.  I like the East Coast; it seems so old, and historic, and primal.  And Rocky.

My brother in law was a Lt. Commander in the Navy, so toured Navy things, too. 

Ace; glad to have contributed.  Go ahead; ask me anything about Rhode Island.



Ring bells for service.

Whizbang

#5
In a very "courageous" move, the Securities and Exchange has graciously accepted a temporary bailout from American banks to shore up the market and restore confidence.  Excuse me, but I am more than a bit puzzled here.  Americans who have been using savings accounts to get very modest returns on their incomes are now being called upon to shore up the unstable stock market whose participants have always scoffed at those who would not take chances and "invest" in the stock market.  Duh?    ??? 

Bill

That is not quite what happened.  American banks did not bail out the stock market. 
The Federal Reserve Bank injected additionalmoney into the system and lowered the interest rate it charges Banks to borrow funds. 
Typically, banks that make consumer loans borrow those funds at x% and lend it at x++%, making their money on the interest spread. 
When a significant number of people stop making payments on loans, banks (in a simple world) stop making payments on their loans and the flow of cash through the system slows.

When cash flow decreases, the amount of money available for loans decreases and business slows.
Hence the fear of a "credit crunch" on the economy here and world wide.

Your savings account had nothing to do with it.

Bill
Antec 3700 | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R | Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz | 4 GB (4x1GB) DDR2 PC 5300 Kingston RAM | Antec NeoPower 550W | eVGA GeForce 9500GT 1GB 128 bit PCI Express 2.0 | Intel SSD X25-M 80GB | VelociRaptor 150GB | WD 80GB 7200rpm |Samsung 22x SATA Burner |Windows 7 32-bit

Ace

Well, I as well am a bit puzzled.  Dangit, I thought we were talking about Rhode Island.  Talk about your 15 minutes of fame; I bet it was more like 12.

I don't even have a savings account anymore.  Just checking.  My wife has stock in Harley Davidson, but I don't even know what else at the moment.  And not like I'm going to invest in a motorcycle, just to get killed, just so they get to sell another and we get richer.  Well, she does.  I guess not me, at that point.

You could ride a motorcycle around Rhode Island, I suppose.  That'd probably take about 12 minutes, too. 

Ace; this poast is depressing.
Ring bells for service.

Whizbang

Quote from: Bill on August 22, 2007, 12:53 hrs
That is not quite what happened.  American banks did not bail out the stock market. 
The Federal Reserve Bank injected additionalmoney into the system and lowered the interest rate it charges Banks to borrow funds. 
Typically, banks that make consumer loans borrow those funds at x% and lend it at x++%, making their money on the interest spread. 
When a significant number of people stop making payments on loans, banks (in a simple world) stop making payments on their loans and the flow of cash through the system slows.

When cash flow decreases, the amount of money available for loans decreases and business slows.
Hence the fear of a "credit crunch" on the economy here and world wide.

Your savings account had nothing to do with it.

Bill
My over-simplification was to the point of almost being blatantly false, like the Geiko Gecko and his jelly and muffin.  The point I was really trying to make is that speculation does not just affect speculators, but everyone in the monetary system, even frugal investors because the biggest problem in the whole system is going beyond the point of reality to purely blind decisions.  Savings accounts are insured by the government, but if there are no funds left to replace losses, the insurance is pure smoke and mirrors.  The stock market bases its decisions upon interpretation of market indicators, which are very volatile, at best, unlike methodical low interest savings accounts which are never linked by the overwhelming majority of savers to anything other than the ability to put more into them until retirement and are therefore not anywhere near as erratic.  The report I referenced but did not quote stated that banks all across America agreed that the Federal Reserve should bolster the market by injecting money into the system.  The threat of massive foreclosures of real estate was what precipitated the market tremor, but it was fear over a potential stock market crash that caused the Fed's decision to be made.  The first place that any public awareness of financial instability is known is virtually always in the stock market gain/loss.  My apologies for jumping off the bridge and landing on a rock.   :-[  Incidentally, I don't have more than a nominal a savings account, never had enough to make it grow much.  Present needs always dictate.

Ace

Alright. Finally.  Back on task.  Jumping off a bridge and landing on a rock is exactly what happens in Rhode Island.  That is one rocky place.  And boy, are there bridges.  It's like the whole thing is made up of islands.  Rocky ones; there's about an inch of topsoil.

Ace; jumping into Iraq takes a lot longer to recover.

Ring bells for service.

Mark H

Quote from: pat on August 17, 2007, 17:21 hrs
Well that is good to know, if I�m ever going to Rhode Island. I�ll be sure to use the facilities in Connecticut or Massachusetts first.

Newport, Rhode Island is a nice place to visit if you get the chance.

Mark H
Enjoy the nature that is around you rather than destroying it.

Ace

It is.  I think it's a great place.  Do the mansion tour; Marble House, the Breakers... See the Newport Tennis Hall of Fame.  Someday I'd love to hit on grass.  Get oysters I mean clams.  Whatever they are.  Get hit by them, by seagulls. Play golf and feel the club reverberate through your spine when it hits the ground.  We should have this year's Poasters Annual Reunion and Clam Bake/Roast there.  It's probably midway between Scuzzy and Buffalo.

Heh. My moustache is sometimes between "Scuzzy.. and Buffalo." 

Otherwise, my deficit is pretty much same as it has been.  I'm thinking if I keep moving my credit cards to new accounts, at better rates, I'll do ok in the long run.  Plus, you can always just run the things to the max.  Then die.  Shoot; what do you care, by then.  Actually, I guess that's pretty much what the US is doing right now, huh. 

Ace; heh, if we die, China is gonna get hit with one big tax bill.
Ring bells for service.

Bill

The Breakers, as in the big Victorian hotel with the large veranda-like wrap around porch where you can sit in the rocking chairs and watch the ocean, that does a big fancy Sunday brunch; that Breakers?

I think it's in Chatham Bahrs, on the Cape, last time I was up that way.
Also some of the very best Italian restaurants are in Providence.

Speaking of deficits, my personal deficit is spelling.  I wonder if Bernancke can solve that problem?

Bill
Antec 3700 | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R | Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz | 4 GB (4x1GB) DDR2 PC 5300 Kingston RAM | Antec NeoPower 550W | eVGA GeForce 9500GT 1GB 128 bit PCI Express 2.0 | Intel SSD X25-M 80GB | VelociRaptor 150GB | WD 80GB 7200rpm |Samsung 22x SATA Burner |Windows 7 32-bit

Ace

The mansion tour was back in the early 80's so it's been awhile.  I looked up the link to all of them:
http://www.newportmansions.org/page7016.cfm

We did the Breakers, Marble House, The Elms and Rosecliff plus the topiary gardens Green Animals.  Breakers is a national landmark as the Vanderbilt summer "cottage" so I don't think they use that as a hotel...  I don't know "Chatham Bahrs" as far as if that's the neighborhood.  Just to stay on the topic of the Deficit, I guess these go to show our rich are as rich as anybody's rich.  Also, when we want to spend big bucks on a nice lakfront property we'll have it done in an Italian Renaissance style.  I know I would.

Ace; although you have to be careful getting sand on your marble floors.
Ring bells for service.

Mark H

I did the Breakers tour, but didn't make it to the Marble House. The homes are neat and the Breakers was designed by the same one who designed the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC. We visited it and it has the land to go with the home. The Biltmore Estate was quite impressive. It is not too bad a drive from Pigeon Forge, TN.

Mark H
Enjoy the nature that is around you rather than destroying it.