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The Federal Budget And Why The US Is In Trouble
04-09-2011, 05:02 AM
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#1
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 444
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The Federal Budget And Why The US Is In Trouble
One of the top stories of recent has to be the big battle on the Hill about trimming the federal budget. Last night an agreement was finally reached that would trim the budget by around 38 billion dollars.
This sounds great until you realize that it amounts to 1% of the federal budget. Yes folks, that's right. All this arguing back and forth for weeks, all this threat of a government shutdown, and they manage to trim 1%.
To put our federal budget and deficit problems in terms we can more easily understand, it is the equivalent of a family that spends 160K a year, but has an income of 100K a year. The husband and wife argue for weeks about what they are going to do to right the ship and they manage to come up with a reduction of 2K, leaving them still spending 158K a year on their 100K salary.
Anyone can see where this is going....and it is not good.
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Budget Agreement & Deficit Spending
04-09-2011, 05:08 AM
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#2
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 77
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Budget Agreement & Deficit Spending
I would say that one common topic on this forum is the concept of frugality and managing one's money closely.
I've also noticed a great divergence in views on various political topics.
So, here is a simple question:
Who here thinks that it is ok for our federal government to continue spending more money each year than they bring in?
To me, the budget issue is this simple, we must only spend what we bring in each year (less, of course, the amount we must allocate to pay off the existing debt). I would have much less heartburn as a citizen and taxpayer if the politicians were arguing about allocations within a pie chart that totaled 100% of the revenues..yep we could give it all to the arts or to fund abortions or to Medicaid, etc... Instead, we bring in around $2 Trillion and spend $3.6 Trillion and then hail a $38 billion cut as monumental.
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04-09-2011, 05:13 AM
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#3
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 77
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I just posted a similar thread, not seeing this one first. I am simply amazed that we allow our government to operate like this, it's pure insanity.
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04-09-2011, 05:58 AM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Washington, DC
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I hope you were both railing against the original Bush tax cuts and last year's extension of the Bush tax cuts because both actions vastly exacerbated the problem.
__________________
Idleness is fatal only to the mediocre -- Albert Camus
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04-09-2011, 06:00 AM
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#5
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Administrator
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: N. Yorkshire
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cb7010
I just posted a similar thread, not seeing this one first. I am simply amazed that we allow our government to operate like this, it's pure insanity.
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I just merged the thread you started.
One less thread to close when the fighting starts
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04-09-2011, 06:01 AM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,004
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Whaddya mean "when"?
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Numbers is hard
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04-09-2011, 06:16 AM
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#7
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by donheff
I hope you were both railing against the original Bush tax cuts and last year's extension of the Bush tax cuts because both actions vastly exacerbated the problem.
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I am railing against Bush, Obama and every member of congress from both parties that has anything to do with us spending more than we bring in. It's not worth anybody's time to dwell on who specifically caused this, we should all be focused on how and who we will engage to fix it.
So, I will take that as one vote for repeal the tax cuts, raise taxes, and/or tax the rich. History shows that economies thrive most when taxes, regulation, and intervention are low (this is not my opinion, but historical fact); so, I will be interested to see how our "raise taxes" solution will work?
Personally, my solution would lean toward a gross downsizing of the federal apparatus to cover just the enumerated functions in the constituation along with a cessation of foreign military activities and a more laissez faire economic environment. But, I am aware there are many ways to skin a cat and so long as we are all talking about financial responsibility and getting things back in order, I will be satisfied.
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04-09-2011, 06:24 AM
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#8
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Bossier City
Posts: 2,183
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What's wrong with tax cuts? How about reducing the waste? Do you believe no matter how much our government wants to take from our paychecks, it's ok....just keep on raising the taxes? To what point...100%? Then what?
We need tax cuts. We need MORE tax cuts, and those need to be funded by CANCELING programs that have no business being paid for with Federal tax dollars.
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04-09-2011, 06:43 AM
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#9
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 444
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Quote:
Originally Posted by donheff
I hope you were both railing against the original Bush tax cuts and last year's extension of the Bush tax cuts because both actions vastly exacerbated the problem.
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As we all on these boards already know, it is not how much you make but how much you spend. (and besides, as already mentioned tax cuts do not reduce revenues)
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04-09-2011, 06:46 AM
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#10
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
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Quote:
Originally Posted by martyb
What's wrong with tax cuts? How about reducing the waste? Do you believe no matter how much our government wants to take from our paychecks, it's ok....just keep on raising the taxes? To what point...100%? Then what?
We need tax cuts. We need MORE tax cuts, and those need to be funded by CANCELING programs that have no business being paid for with Federal tax dollars.
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Like the military.
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"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
- George Orwell
Ezekiel 23:20
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04-09-2011, 06:54 AM
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#11
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brewer12345
Like the military.
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I like them too...
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Numbers is hard
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04-09-2011, 07:01 AM
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#12
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2008
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I never followed government spending much and hence don't much about about the budget process. I always thought the first thing I would eliminate in the budget would be foreign aid; however, a friend told me that foreign aid was a money making proposition. The government doesn't really give "them" cash, rather it's giving goods and services provided by American business and industry, thereby creating work for our people. Anybody got a handle on this topic? I'd be interested in knowing how foreign aid really works.
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04-09-2011, 07:06 AM
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#13
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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It will not be a problem! Bill Gross, the Bond King, explains how it will play out. Because we, as a nation, refuse to act (isn't Congress selected by voters?), I do not see a way out, so I tend to agree with Bill Gross.
... the only way out of the dilemma, absent very large entitlement cuts, is to default in one (or a combination) of four ways: 1) outright via contractual abrogation – surely unthinkable, 2) surreptitiously via accelerating and unexpectedly higher inflation – likely but not significant in its impact, 3) deceptively via a declining dollar– currently taking place right in front of our noses, and 4) stealthily via policy rates and Treasury yields far below historical levels – paying savers less on their money and hoping they won’t complain. All I can do as an individual is to watch as this unfolds, in order to protect my stash in any which way. Heh heh heh...
Bill Gross's original article is here.
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04-09-2011, 07:21 AM
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#14
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Administrator
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brewer12345
Like the military.
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Indeed, our deficit would be substantially less if we would stop invading foreign countries.
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Living an analog life in the Digital Age.
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04-09-2011, 07:34 AM
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#15
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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It is a show for the next election.
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04-09-2011, 07:36 AM
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#16
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Administrator
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: N. Yorkshire
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gumby
Indeed, our deficit would be substantially less if we would stop invading foreign countries.
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I wonder if it would have been cheaper to let the Middle East etc do it's own thing, take the hit on sky high oil prices, and invest in alternatives to their oil.
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Retired in Jan, 2010 at 55, moved to England in May 2016
Enough private pension and SS income to cover all needs
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04-09-2011, 07:47 AM
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#17
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,872
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Quote:
Originally Posted by novaman
As we all on these boards already know, it is not how much you make but how much you spend. (and besides, as already mentioned tax cuts do not reduce revenues)
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....and we all know spending less and increasing your income is the quickest way to get rid of debt. 25 years of tax cuts and over spending have got us into this trouble. We need to cut spending and raise taxes if the deficit is truly the problem. I would give tax credits in areas that are directly related to growth like capital purchases and actually creating a new job. This is the recipe the US and IMF gives to every foreign country that gets into fiscal trouble, it's interesting that the US can't take it's own medicine.
We need tax reform to eliminate things like mortgage deduction, increase tax rates on the top 10% of income earners, better enforcement of company taxes, encourage growth by giving tax credits on capital expenditures and new job creation, slash the military budget and foreign deployments, increase SS age to 67, get better efficiency out of medicare and medicaid and cover more people. US has and expensive system that is difficult to access and produces poor outcomes. US has same life expectancy as Cuba but spends 10 times as much per capita so there's obviously room for savings without reducing outcomes.
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04-09-2011, 08:09 AM
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#18
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 11,318
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Quote:
Originally Posted by donheff
I hope you were both railing against the original Bush tax cuts and last year's extension of the Bush tax cuts because both actions vastly exacerbated the problem.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cb7010
So, I will take that as one vote for repeal the tax cuts, raise taxes, and/or tax the rich. History shows that economies thrive most when taxes, regulation, and intervention are low (this is not my opinion, but historical fact); so, I will be interested to see how our "raise taxes" solution will work?
Personally, my solution would lean toward a gross downsizing of the federal apparatus to cover just the enumerated functions in the constituation along with a cessation of foreign military activities and a more laissez faire economic environment. But, I am aware there are many ways to skin a cat and so long as we are all talking about financial responsibility and getting things back in order, I will be satisfied.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by martyb
What's wrong with tax cuts? How about reducing the waste? Do you believe no matter how much our government wants to take from our paychecks, it's ok....just keep on raising the taxes? To what point...100%? Then what?
We need tax cuts. We need MORE tax cuts, and those need to be funded by CANCELING programs that have no business being paid for with Federal tax dollars.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by novaman
As we all on these boards already know, it is not how much you make but how much you spend. (and besides, as already mentioned tax cuts do not reduce revenues)
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Good luck guys. I was pulling in loads of $ when the Bush cuts went into effect. I thought they were insane then when they put lots of extra dollars in my pockets. And I think they are insane now. We flourished before them and saw no evidence that those cuts helped us flourish more. They certainly busted the 1990s surplus. I am willing to support drastic cuts in military spending and in health care spending. There isn't much to save outside of those. But we will never get where we need to go without revenue increases as well.
__________________
Idleness is fatal only to the mediocre -- Albert Camus
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04-09-2011, 08:38 AM
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#19
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 581
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gumby
Indeed, our deficit would be substantially less if we would stop invading foreign countries.
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+1
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04-09-2011, 09:54 AM
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#20
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,049
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nun
We need tax reform to eliminate things like mortgage deduction, increase tax rates on the top 10% of income earners, better enforcement of company taxes, encourage growth by giving tax credits on capital expenditures and new job creation, slash the military budget and foreign deployments, increase SS age to 67, get better efficiency out of medicare and medicaid and cover more people. US has and expensive system that is difficult to access and produces poor outcomes. US has same life expectancy as Cuba but spends 10 times as much per capita so there's obviously room for savings without reducing outcomes.
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Good start. How about another sacred cow, the DOT?
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