Posted on 04/13/2011 2:56:09 AM PDT by Scanian
Obama's Treasury Department is blaming TARP payments and other accounting quirks to explain the jump in the US deficit. But actually, it's more.
AFP:
"The Treasury reported a deficit of $829 billion for the October-March period, compared with $717 billion a year earlier, as revenue rose a sluggish 6.9 percent as the economic recovery slowly gained pace. The Treasury argued that the pace of increase in the deficit was deceptive because of large one-off reductions in expenditures made during the first half of fiscal 2010, compared with previous and subsequent periods.
"Those included a $115 billion reduction in funds spent on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) -- the financial institution bailout program -- in March 2010.
"But 2011 so far has also seen significant increases in spending on defense, Social Security, health and debt service, while receipts have not grown as fast.
"'The jump in outlays mostly owed to a smaller estimated reduction in TARP outlays this year versus 2010,' said Theresa Chen at Barclays Capital Research.
"However, she said, the trend shows that taxable income is rising at a 6.9 percent annual pace, and individual incomes taxes are up 20.6 percent, 'consistent with general economic improvement.'"
We'll see if those numbers on income and taxes play out for the rest of the year. With gasoline prices heading toward $5 a gallon and housing prices continuing their free fall, a slowdown in this sluggish economy is a definite possibility.
No surprise...big fact too is that there are very few countries in the world other than a few OPEC’s in fiscal position to continue to fund the US debt...Japan can’t now, and China has better biz sense to continue. May explain why Obummer started his Libyan war to allow radical Islam to continue its expansion into the goobermint of ME countries. A back door deal so Obummer and the Rats can have their play money?
Good thing we took such a tough stand and cut $38 billion. Can you imagine how bad it would be if we had not done that!
“cut $38 billion”
And half of that was mere accounting tricks.
Boehner is looking worse by the day.
The GOP got hosed due to gutless Leadership.
Where is all the damned money going?
I don't have it. I promise.
Downright fraud on the public. I woke up very cynical this morning after learning about this last night.
Boehner really deserves a swift kick in the a__ for that.
But then he’d cry and we can’t put ourselves through THAT again.
We could if we were hearing it as he was leaving through the door.
We seriously need a much better negotiator in the Speaker's chair. And we need him/her now.
LLS
I don’t have it either, but how the hell can we have spent 700 Billion dollars more this year than last, and no one knows what happened to the money?
They took far too much money from productive Americans and then blew nearly a billion more than they took in, mostly on fraud, waste, and abuse, and they call it a gimmick? Communists are pure evil, and today’s socialists are almost as disgusting.
I have had the same, exact questions as you. This is a hell of a lot of money. It is going somewhere. We don't know where.
This is corruption on a global scale. We are so screwed and, so far, powerless to do anything about it. And the evidence is mounting that our congress - both sides - is complicit.
Could end badly, this.
The House is supposed to be in charge of spending, and yet they spent 700 Billion more than authorised.
Who is asleep.
We see Obama sending money here and there without House authorisation? How can he do that?
We argue over 38 Billion while spending 700 Billion that was never authorised.The 38 Billion is such a farce that Obama can hide it in book keeping tricks without it ever hurting his agenda. The tail is wagging the dog here.
We no longer have a Government made up of 3 separate and equal parts , we have an alledged president running the whole show. A dictator if you will,and Everyone else frightened of being called racist.
I am a simple man, but something here just is not right.
Everyone on our side seems to be standing still with their mouths open, looking around and doing nothing to stop the raping and pillaging of our Republic by 0bama and his marxist minions while they laugh at us.
We are lost. I hope we can recover but news of this latest bogus budget cuts business by Boehner makes me feel so cynical I don't have much faith in anything right at the moment. Maybe I'll feel more optimistic after a couple more cups of coffee.
But I doubt it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.