Federal deficits soaring higher, menacing the future

[RedEarth]

Federal deficits soaring higher, menacing the future
Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers
February 04, 2008

WASHINGTON — President Bush took office in 2001 with a budget surplus, but his final budget proposal envisions federal deficits of more than $400 billion a year for the next two years. As big as those numbers are, experts think that the administration is lowballing the deficits, and they put little stock in Bush's vow to balance the budget by 2012.
"I think the promise that it will be balanced by 2012 is ridiculous," said Chris Edwards, the director of tax policy for the Cato Institute, a libertarian policy research group.

Bush's estimates of a $410 billion deficit this fiscal year and $407 billion for fiscal 2009, budget experts said, rely on very low assumptions of war costs, unrealistic estimates on tax collection and spending cuts that won't sell politically, regardless of which party is in charge of Congress.

"No sensible analyst takes this (budget) estimate seriously," said Robert Greenstein, the executive director of the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

........

Gross federal debt accumulated through all U.S. history totaled $8.9 trillion at the end of fiscal 2007 last Sept. 30. That was up sharply from $5.6 trillion at the end of fiscal 2000. Even under the optimistic scenarios envisioned in the Bush budget, gross federal debt is still projected to rise to more than $12.2 trillion by 2013.

At the end of 2007, foreigners held 44 percent of total Treasury debt held by the public, compared with 31 percent in 2000. Bridging budget gaps thus now depends on the kindness of strangers.

http://www.concordcoalition.org/news/article-storage/2008/mcclatchy-0204.htm

[thunder rising]

1. And where's the news here? Oh, maybe it's that the MSM is noticing that Bush has spent every dime

this country has and will have for as long as a decade?

[benld74]

2. If there every was a 'good' part of Bush,,,

it ran down the inside of his mothers leg!

[Tommy Jefferson]

3. We can keep borrowing forever.

There is no downside to going further in debt to finance public works.

Just as a cocaine addict can keep injecting greater amounts of cocaine so as to stay high forever, we can keep borrowing money and printing money forever.

More free health care.
More war.
More HUD.