Government Running $344 Billion Deficit

[GOPBasher]

Government Running $344 Billion Deficit

WASHINGTON - The government ran a deficit of $344.3 billion in the first eight months of the 2004 budget year, according to the latest snapshot of the nation's balance sheets.



The data released by the Treasury Department (news - web sites) on Thursday showed more red ink than the $290.9 billion shortfall for the corresponding period last year.


For the current budget year, which began Oct. 1, spending has totaled $1.53 trillion, 5.5 percent more than the same period a year ago. Revenues came to $1.19 trillion, 2.3 percent more than the previous year.

Yippie! Supply side economics at it's best! The tax cuts are really, really working!!! <sarcasm off>

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&ncid=542&e=5&u=/ap/20040610/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/federal_deficit_1

[madrchsod]

1. 1000 billion

of war debt is not counted in this figure..the true debt maybe closer to 550-600 billion by the end of the year..

[Mountainman]

2. Repubs cut taxes and increase give aways to their friends.

Basically the republican way is to reduce taxes on their constituents and increase federal spending by creating business for their constituents with the goverment as the cash cow customer.

The rest of us are supposed to sit under the banquet table and eat the crumbs that fall on the floor.

That is supply side economics 101.

[cliss]

3. I think it's more.

I just posted on another blogger website that I estimated the current year's federal deficit to be $510 billion, not counting the Iraq adventure which I estimate to be at $192 billion right now.

Why do we not have good figures? This scares me more than anything else. The Pentagon is very secretive about its expenditures. The GAO (the Government Accounting Office) seems to be changing its figures.

THIS should worry us more than anything else. They're hiding stuff from us. They're lying, and they're probably underestimating the totals. Maybe they're making qualified estimates, like not counting transfer payments, or unemployment insurance, or interest expense or some such.

This pisses me off. I'm going to try to find solid figures, and report back.

[gratuitous]

6. Note: $344 billion for the first eight months of the fiscal year

Half again that much, and we'll be up to your $510 billion figure and a little bit more. As appalling as a $344 billion deficit is, even that figure masks the true figure, as the headline writer probably well knows.

[cliss]

9. Thank you G, for noticing that little detail.

By the time I finished reading the thread up above, I was really worked up and angry.

I'm just frustrated with not being able to rely on anything that comes out of their reports. It's just bad math.

[struggle4progress]

4. Borrowing money for hand-outs to Dubya's buddies!

[Bandit]

5. I think this statement is a lie

"Revenues came to $1.19 trillion, 2.3 percent more than the previous year."
Less people are working and the ones that are, are paying less in taxes so how could revenues be up 2.3%? Something just doesn't ring true. More Fuzzy Math and Voo Doo economics.

[snippy]

7. Here is the explanation.

On the revenue side, individual income tax payments came to nearly $502 billion for the first eight months of the 2004 budget year, 3.1 percent less than the corresponding period a year ago. Corporate income tax payments totaled $96 billion so far this year, a 46.6 percent increase.

The $96 billion in corporate income taxes represents a little over 8% of federal revenue. This would be only the thirteenth time since 1934 that corporate income taxes represented less than 10% of federal revenue. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/sheets/hist02z2.xls

[AndyTiedye]

8. Makes Sense. A Money-Losing Corporation Pays No Taxes

and the current misadministration has been a money-loser for nearly all
corporations, except Halliburton and some other very-well-connected ones.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. And that shows one of the big problems with Bush's 'economics'

If corporate taxes are set at a reasonable rate, and dividend taxes, capital gains taxes etc. as well, then, when the overall economy does well, government income increases - so it can pay for the bad times that happened before (and are bound to happen again).

But if government revenue is tied mainly to income tax from working families, then the only thing that will increase it is a large fall in unemployment (which would increase the number of taxpayers, and also make it an employees' market in wages). But with globalisation, that's less and less likely.

[skrunch]

11. Tack on another billion for...

...this week's "Mourning In America" pageant.

[struggle4progress]

12. Wow, George! I think yours is bigger than Ronnie's!