Huzzah! We're only $300 billion below water level
I'm a budget hawk and have always had trouble with Bush's "goal" of halving the deficit by the end of his presidency when his decisions and policies created the deficit in the first place, but the chutzpah of this just amazes me.
In the face of all the reports of stagnant wages among the middle class, "corporations and the wealthy" are making enough money to surprise the government with an extra $123 billion in tax payments, but their tax cuts are needed.
WASHINGTON - The budget deficit won't be as President Bush predicted earlier this year.
A surge in taxes paid by corporations and the wealthy promises to bring the budget deficit to less than $300 billion instead of the $423 billion forecast by the White House in February.
Bush himself was trumpeting the good news Tuesday morning as a validation of his pro-growth tax cuts and his clampdown on domestic agencies funded by Congress.....
Even before the release of the figures, critics poked at the White House figures, citing, for example how they are at odds from Bush's original budget released in 2001, which predicted a $305 billion surplus for the current year, even after accounting for tax cuts.
In the face of all the reports of stagnant wages among the middle class, "corporations and the wealthy" are making enough money to surprise the government with an extra $123 billion in tax payments, but their tax cuts are needed.
posted by mikevotes at
6:25 AM
7 Comments:
Here is a a metaphore. I start breaking two windows in your house every month. Then, after 3 years, I say, "Hey, now I'm only going to break 1 window per month. You should be happy."
What especially bothers me is that when you tell people that you are cutting the deficit in half, they think you mean the public debt.
By
Praguetwin, at 9:44 AM
Ah, the power of lower expectations. The deficit in this year's budget will not be as much as Bush's bogus predictions...
By
-epm, at 10:18 AM
Praguetwin, I was trying to come up with a good metaphor, but couldn't quite capture it.
And, you're sort of right on the debt/deficit confusion, but among Republicans, that distinction is quite clear because it's been a talking point since they took over Congress in 1994, so the faithful, at least, know the chicanery.
EPM, yeah.That's why I included that section that in selling the tax cuts, the Bush admin had predicted a $300 billion surplus.
They came out and tried to play it as good news, but thus far the coverage I've seen seems to be challenging that interpretation.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 10:27 AM
People on both sides use it to their advantage. The Democrats were not too quick to correct people who thought that a budget surplus meant that there was no public debt, but those in the know know it never dipped below 5 trillion.
I think people are waking up to the facts, slowly.
By
Praguetwin, at 10:32 AM
Here's the only economic indicator I care about: the ratio of median income to GDP.
If I had a second choice it would be to publish economic growth adjusted by personal debt.
These two figures would give a more realistic picture of the quality of life for Americans, which, in the end, is the whole point.
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-epm, at 11:01 AM
Praguetwin, agreed. As the hurricane gets closer, people start paying more attention.
And, EPM that's not a bad indicator. It's a little "worker" centric for mass analysis, but for the direct impact on income distribution equity it's probably not bad.
And I think you hit the point. "The economy" as measured and reported has very little bearing on quality of life issues of people. The current focus is almost entirely on corporate health which explains why layoffs are deemed not to hurt "the economy."
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 1:54 PM
Yeah, and if you want to take a look at what sickmaking legislation is in the offing, and how come our leader can continue with tax cuts to the ultra-rich, you should check out the Center on Budget Proposal Priorities, specifically this link:
http://www.cbpp.org/6-19-06bud.htm
It's something of an eye-opener, even for a jaded old crone, such as myself :)
By
Anonymous, at 1:11 AM
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