Stronger economy helps trim U.S. budget deficit

[okaawhatever]

(Reuters) - The U.S. federal budget deficit narrowed in November, helped by a strengthening economy that boosted tax receipts during the month, Treasury Department data showed on Wednesday.

Washington spent $56.8 billion more than it took in last month, which was less than half the deficit in November of 2013. It was also narrower than analysts' expectations for a $72.5 billion deficit.

After suffering from years of stagnant growth, America's economy has appeared to rev its engines this year even as the global picture has grown more troubled. Hiring by U.S. employers has picked up and the government is no longer engaged in the harsh austerity that reduced growth in 2013 through tax hikes and spending cuts.

Continued at Link:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/10/us-usa-economy-budget-idUSKBN0JO24Y20141210

[pampango]

1. Yet republican propaganda works. 54% think it has increased under Obama, 19% that it has decreased.

https://today.yougov.com/news/2014/01/30/poll-results-deficit/

The myth of the 'big-spending liberal Democrat' lives on.

The Deficit Is Down, and Nobody Knows or Cares

The CBO tells us that the federal deficit is way down — under 3 percent of GDP. And Jared Bernstein notes that Obama seems to get no credit.

You may ask, what did you expect? But the truth is that a few years ago many pundits claimed that Obama would reap big political rewards by being the grownup, the responsible guy who Did What Had To Be Done. Worse, some reports said that the White House political staff believed this.

It was, of course, nonsense on multiple levels. While pundits may like to script out elaborate psychodramas about voter perceptions, real perceptions bear no relationship to their scripts — in fact, a majority think the deficit has gone up on Obama’s watch, while only a small minority know that it’s down.

And the deficit scolds themselves are unappeasable — nothing that doesn’t involve severely damage Social Security and/or Medicare will satisfy them. Why, it’s almost as if shredding the safety net, not reducing the deficit, was their real goal. Deficit obsession has been immensely destructive as an economic matter. But it has also involved major political malpractice.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/the-deficit-is-down-and-nobody-knows-or-cares/

[jtuck004]

2. I wonder how many people in Ferguson would have jobs if we weren't so concerned with cutting

Federal spending, given that the Federal Government is one of the few places black folks can get anything resembling a fair shake at a decent job?

I know that's not a big thing with white folks, given that their unemployment is half that of blacks, and white folks mostly populate the banks which were big donors to the party, and making them rich is a big priority, but now that's been accomplished...

U.S. Bank Profits Near Record Levels
Industry Posts Second-Highest Profit in 23 Years in Quarter Ended June 30
Here.

How 'bout we stop trimming the deficit by leaving the burden on the backs of working people?