Posted on 11/19/2004 6:07:51 AM PST by OESY
...The end of the last fiscal year on September 30 brought good news on the deficit front. And there's a fighting chance that the current lame-duck Congress will actually exercise some restraint in its appropriations for 2005.
The media Furies and partisans are all astir because Congress voted to raise the debt limit again this week, as if not lifting the borrowing cap and defaulting was a viable option for the U.S. But the real story emerging this week is that the White House finally seems serious about holding the line on its budgetary spending strictures -- and won't stand for any fuzzy math either....
In equally good budget news, federal revenues are also bouncing back as economic growth continues. Over the long term, federal revenues have averaged roughly 17% to 19% of GDP. They soared to 21% during the late Clinton years, which is one reason the Bush tax cuts were so important. Amid recession and the burst stock-bubble, however, revenues dipped below 16% in recent years. Now they're heading back toward their normal range.
Fiscal 2004 ended with a federal deficit of $413 billion, well under the Office of Management and Budget's February projection of $521 billion. In October, the 12-month deficit came in under $400 billion, and in the (admittedly brief) three months ending in October the 12-month trend was heading toward $310 billion....
As for the national debt, that's also not a cause for alarm. As the nearby chart shows, overall federal debt as a share of GDP is estimated to be below 40% in 2005, still well below the recent peak of 49.4% in 1993. That is easily manageable by historic standards, and in fact should begin to decline again if the economy keeps growing and annual deficits begin to shrink....
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Words. I want action.
With spending cuts and economic growth, the debt should be halved to $100 billion in four years. And the Chicken Littles scream the sky is falling!
how about rescinding the prescription drug plan that is so awful as a starter?
We don't pay for wars with "War Bonds" any more. See my tagline.
I blame Hassertt and the "Cardinals"...Accusing them of spending like drunken sailors is an insult to the Navy.
20% budget cuts across all programs except Department of Defense and homeland security would be nice.
In the bloated department of Education this would still give a 20% increase from when Bush first took office... (discraceful)
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