Showing posts with label deficit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deficit. Show all posts
Friday, May 26, 2023
Saturday, October 21, 2017
U.S. Ran $666 Billion Deficit In Fiscal 2017, Sixth Highest on Record
The U.S. Treasury Department building in Washington. Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press
By
Kate Davidson
The Wall Street Journal
BiographyKate Davidson
@KateDavidson
kate.davidson@wsj.com Updated Oct. 20, 2017 2:54 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON—The federal budget deficit widened in fiscal year 2017 to the sixth highest deficit on record as government spending growth outpaced growth in tax collections for the second year in a row, the Treasury Department said Thursday.
The budget shortfall rose to $666 billion in the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, up $80 billion, or 14%, from fiscal year 2016. That tracks with an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, which had predicted a $668 billion deficit for the last fiscal year.
Federal tax receipts reached a record high in fiscal year 2017, at $3.3 trillion, thanks to slightly faster growth, according to a senior Treasury official. But government outlays also hit a record high last year at nearly $4 trillion, 3% higher than they were in the previous fiscal year, thanks to increased spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as higher interest payments on the public debt.
As a percentage of gross domestic product, the deficit totaled 3.5%, up from 3.2% in fiscal year 2016.
“Today’s budget results underscore the importance of achieving robust and sustained economic growth,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement accompanying the report. “Through a combination of tax reform and regulatory relief, this country can return to higher levels of GDP growth, helping to erase our fiscal deficit.”
Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director, said the figures “should serve as a smoke alarm for Washington” and a reminder to “get our fiscal hour in order.”
But deficit hawks, including some in Congress, have warned that a GOP plan to rewrite the tax code could make the country’s fiscal situation worse if it adds to the deficit. The Senate approved a budget resolution Thursday that would allow Congress to pass a tax cut that lowers federal revenues by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years.
Declining government revenues and long-term costs associated with an aging population, including higher Social Security and Medicare spending, are expected to continue pushing up deficits over the coming decades.
Treasury said Friday the government ran an $8 billion surplus in September, much smaller than the $33 billion surplus in September 2016. Receipts fell 2% while outlays grew 5% last month compared with the same period a year earlier.
Write to Kate Davidson at kate.davidson@wsj.com
Tuesday, February 04, 2014
Treasury's Lew warns that US default could happen quickly
Published: Tuesday, 4 Feb 2014 | 12:52 AM ET
The Obama administration warned on Monday it could start defaulting on the government's obligations "very soon" after it runs out of room to borrow under a legal cap on public debt.
Washington is due to reinstate a limit on its borrowing at the end of this week and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said the administration can use accounting measures to stay under the new cap until the end of February.
(Read more: Lew warns Congress of February debt ceiling deadline)
After that time, "very soon it would not be possible to meet all of the obligations of the federal government," Lew said at an event hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a prominent Washington think tank.
U.S. politicians now partake in a regular dance around the country's so-called debt limit. First, Congress authorizes spending that outstrips tax receipts. Then lawmakers balk over whether to OK enough borrowing to pay the bills. A rancorous debate ensues over putting public finances on a stable path.
Getty Images
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew
Washington has danced perilously close to the edge of default several times since 2011, and this year some Republicans pledge to extract policy concessions from Democrats before they allow the debt limit to rise.
The administration has vowed not to negotiate on the matter, and Lew said public finances are in good enough shape that long-term fiscal problems don't have to be solved this year anyway.
Federal debt ballooned during the 2007-09 recession and most analysts think Washington's obligations to pay for health care for the elderly will stress the budget more as U.S. society ages.
(Read more: Buffett: Debt limit is 'political weapon of mass destruction')
But Lew said the sharp reduction in budget deficits over the last few years has bought America time to improve its fiscal outlook.
"I'm not sure this is the year for the long-term fiscal challenge to be dealt with," Lew said. "We have a little time to deal with the longer term."
It is unclear if Republicans, who are pressing for an overhaul of the government's health care obligations, will put up much of a fight over the debt ceiling. U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, said last month American "shouldn't even get close to" default.
Treasury and Congress at odds on debt limit timetable
Congress should act as soon as possible and make sure there are no more self-inflicted wounds, says U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, discussing why lawmakers need to act in a timely manner to increase the nation's debt limit so the government can pay its bills.
Tax refunds
In October, Congress and the administration suspended a $16.7 trillion cap on borrowing until Feb. 7. If the debt ceiling isn't raised by then, Treasury can juggle money between government accounts for a few weeks to keep just under the new limit.
Once it loses the ability to borrow, Treasury would pay its bills by relying on incoming revenue and any cash left in public coffers.
No one is sure when the money would run out and lead to missed payments on everything from Social Security pensions to interest on the national debt. Lew said the end of February is a particularly bad time to start relying on a cash cushion. This is because the government at that time is mailing out tax refunds, so the Treasury thinks it would burn through its remaining cash more quickly than it would at other times of the year.
(Read more: Lew: We have less debt ceiling wiggle room now)
Many economists think a U.S. default could trigger a financial panic and perhaps even an economic depression, and Lew urged lawmakers to act swiftly to raise the debt ceiling.
"Unnecessary delays or political posturing ... could snowball into a manufactured crisis," he said.
Source
.
The Obama administration warned on Monday it could start defaulting on the government's obligations "very soon" after it runs out of room to borrow under a legal cap on public debt.
Washington is due to reinstate a limit on its borrowing at the end of this week and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said the administration can use accounting measures to stay under the new cap until the end of February.
(Read more: Lew warns Congress of February debt ceiling deadline)
After that time, "very soon it would not be possible to meet all of the obligations of the federal government," Lew said at an event hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a prominent Washington think tank.
U.S. politicians now partake in a regular dance around the country's so-called debt limit. First, Congress authorizes spending that outstrips tax receipts. Then lawmakers balk over whether to OK enough borrowing to pay the bills. A rancorous debate ensues over putting public finances on a stable path.
Getty Images
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew
Washington has danced perilously close to the edge of default several times since 2011, and this year some Republicans pledge to extract policy concessions from Democrats before they allow the debt limit to rise.
The administration has vowed not to negotiate on the matter, and Lew said public finances are in good enough shape that long-term fiscal problems don't have to be solved this year anyway.
Federal debt ballooned during the 2007-09 recession and most analysts think Washington's obligations to pay for health care for the elderly will stress the budget more as U.S. society ages.
(Read more: Buffett: Debt limit is 'political weapon of mass destruction')
But Lew said the sharp reduction in budget deficits over the last few years has bought America time to improve its fiscal outlook.
"I'm not sure this is the year for the long-term fiscal challenge to be dealt with," Lew said. "We have a little time to deal with the longer term."
It is unclear if Republicans, who are pressing for an overhaul of the government's health care obligations, will put up much of a fight over the debt ceiling. U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, said last month American "shouldn't even get close to" default.
Treasury and Congress at odds on debt limit timetable
Congress should act as soon as possible and make sure there are no more self-inflicted wounds, says U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, discussing why lawmakers need to act in a timely manner to increase the nation's debt limit so the government can pay its bills.
Tax refunds
In October, Congress and the administration suspended a $16.7 trillion cap on borrowing until Feb. 7. If the debt ceiling isn't raised by then, Treasury can juggle money between government accounts for a few weeks to keep just under the new limit.
Once it loses the ability to borrow, Treasury would pay its bills by relying on incoming revenue and any cash left in public coffers.
No one is sure when the money would run out and lead to missed payments on everything from Social Security pensions to interest on the national debt. Lew said the end of February is a particularly bad time to start relying on a cash cushion. This is because the government at that time is mailing out tax refunds, so the Treasury thinks it would burn through its remaining cash more quickly than it would at other times of the year.
(Read more: Lew: We have less debt ceiling wiggle room now)
Many economists think a U.S. default could trigger a financial panic and perhaps even an economic depression, and Lew urged lawmakers to act swiftly to raise the debt ceiling.
"Unnecessary delays or political posturing ... could snowball into a manufactured crisis," he said.
Source
.
Sunday, June 02, 2013
Weak U.S. Policy Has Bankrolled China's Rise
By Scott Paul - June 2, 2013
China’s newly installed president, Xi Jinping, will visit California in early June for direct talks with President Obama over how best, the White House says, to “enhance cooperation, while constructively managing our differences.”
There’s certainly a lot to talk about. America’s goods and services trade deficit with China has skyrocketed since 2001, reaching $315 billion in 2012. We’ve lost tremendous manufacturing capacity to China in that time. And most recently comes news that China has hacked into some of our top weapons systems.
Read more: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/06/02/weak_us_policy_has_bankrolled_chinas_rise_118645.html#ixzz2V5hEX4R1
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Thursday, January 03, 2013
When Governing Means Lurching Between Phony Crises
About Clive Crook»
Clive Crook is a Bloomberg View columnist and member of the Bloomberg View editorial board. His column appears ... MORE
By Clive Crook Jan 2, 2013 9:46 AM ET
The vote last night in the House of Representatives brought to a close the latest Washington master class in dereliction of duty. After a few days of arguing about who won or lost, we can move on to the next manufactured crisis.
In itself, not much of a surprise, the fiscal-cliff deal avoids most of the tax increases and postpones almost all of the spending cuts that were about to be triggered. Throughout this farce, financial markets had refused to believe that the U.S. government would inflict a recession rather than strike a budget agreement, especially because they knew that, all posturing aside, the distance between the two parties was small. Markets wobbled but didn’t collapse.
Let’s hope they react with similar equanimity to the next pointless quarrel, over the debt ceiling. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress last week that the current limit on government borrowing was about to be reached. He said “extraordinary measures” (essentially, shuffling funds among government accounts) would be used to prevent the debt from breaking through the ceiling.
How long can that go on? Geithner wasn’t sure. Maybe two months under normal circumstances, he said, but “given the significant uncertainty that now exists with regard to unresolved tax and spending policies for 2013, it is not possible to predict the effective duration of these measures.”
Tax Increase
The latest fiscal deal does little to resolve those uncertainties. The spending-cut part has merely been delayed by two months. The tax increase for couples making more than $450,000, together with other changes and estimated savings in debt interest, shaves about $700 billion from the 10-year deficit. Savings of about $2 trillion will be needed to stabilize the ratio of public debt to national income. Bringing that ratio down to a safer level requires spending cuts and tax increases worth $4 trillion -- the original “grand bargain” ambition.
Instead of dealing calmly with the problem, fiscal policy has settled into a mode of perpetual phony crisis. Phony doesn’t mean harmless, however. The risk of a real fiscal crisis gradually builds. Meanwhile, the cumulative effects of simulated crisis might be almost as bad. It’s the difference between an acute illness and a chronic wasting disease -- one that’s beginning to look incurable.
Don’t tell me the economy just had a lucky escape. Whatever happens next, it has been paying for the fiscal standoff for months. It’s paying for what Congress might do with the next debt ceiling, and the one after that. The “significant uncertainty” that Geithner referred to has already held back the U.S. recovery. Another temporary fiscal patch isn’t a remedy. It’s just more of the same.
The economy needs a lasting fiscal compact that commands broad, bipartisan support. I can hear the groans. Not another call for compromise. Many Democrats and almost all Republicans find the idea disgusting. On Capitol Hill, it’s no longer enough for one side to win; the other has to be seen to lose. That attitude is the growing burden the economy has to carry.
The tax cuts passed under President George W. Bush show what happens when reforms lack broad support. They were pushed through in 2001 and 2003 against solid Democratic opposition. For more than a decade, the overriding aim of Democratic politics has been to (partially) reverse them. Mission accomplished -- for now.
Health Care
A similar fate might be in store for health-care reform. With uncertain support from the public, the Affordable Care Act faces the skepticism of Republican governors and the outright hostility of a Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The policy may be the law of the land, but without a firmer base of support it will remain in jeopardy.
Expect the pattern to repeat during the next phase of budgetary dysfunction. Outwitted by its own earlier tactics, the Republican Party has accepted an increase in the top income-tax rate as part of the fiscal-cliff reprieve. Why expect this to be the end? One day Republicans will cut that top rate again, even if it kills them (and the economy). What a glorious day that will be.
The remarkable thing is the passion of this mutual animosity, given how little divides the combatants. President Barack Obama’s health-care law, don’t forget, was built to a Republican blueprint. All Democrats have embraced the Bush tax cuts as they apply to 98 percent of taxpayers, and most acknowledge the need to contain entitlement spending, which the Republicans insist is essential. Before the rank and file in Congress forced a retreat, the House Republican leadership broached raising the tax rate for people earning more than $1 million a year and suggested collecting more revenue by limiting deductions, a reform favored by all thinking progressives.
This is hardly a clash of irreconcilable visions, as the two sides want to claim. Seen from beyond the Beltway, the budgetary gap isn’t just bridgeable, it’s trivial. Democrats and Republicans disagree about taxes and spending, of course, but they relish and exaggerate the differences. Their enmity is less about economics than about culture, values and class. That’s what makes it so poisonous.
Obama offers the best hope for calming this conflict and passing broadly supported -- hence lasting -- fiscal reform. At the moment, it’s hard to be optimistic because the president has chosen since the election to strut more than conciliate, to be a partisan champion, sticking it to the enemy, not a one-nation leader seeking to build agreement. Declaring victory this week won’t serve his or the country’s interests. A little magnanimity would go a long way. Nonetheless, count on the Republicans to do all they can to make presidential aggression look reasonable.
This dynamic could still change, and for America’s sake it had better. The automatic expiration of the Bush tax cuts was a fleeting moment of political leverage for the White House, difficult to forgo. That moment has passed. Now the president has to think about the delayed spending cuts, the debt ceiling, comprehensive tax and entitlement reform, and his second term.
He can set out to split differences, build consensus and solve problems. Or he can stand on principle, berate the opposition (and the half of the country it represents), and keep the crises coming. If he does the first, he may fail. If he does the second, he can count on it.
(Clive Crook is a Bloomberg View columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the writer of this article: Clive Crook at
To contact the editor responsible for this article: Max Berley at mberley@bloomberg.net
Monday, August 27, 2012
U.S. Debt On Track to Hit $16 Trillion Within Week
(CNSNews.com) - The federal government’s debt could hit an unprecedented $16 trillion this week while the Republican Party is holding its national convention in Tampa, Fla.
On Monday afternoon, at the opening of the convention. the Republicans will try to draw attention to the mounting debt by unveiling a debt clock in the Tampa Bay Times Forum, where the convention will be held.
At an event in Waterloo, Iowa, earlier this month President Obama highlighted his own efforts to deal with the debt.
"I'll make sure government does its part to reduce our debt and our deficits," the president said. "We've cut out already a trillion dollars' worth of spending we don't need. And we can do more. I want to make government efficient. We've got to make sure that your tax dollars are being well spent. But we can't bring down our deficit and our debt just by asking us to get rid of things that open up opportunity to Americans.
"So instead," said Obama, "we're asking folks like me to go back to the rates we paid under Bill Clinton--which, by the way, was a time when we created 23 million new jobs, went from deficit to surplus, and we created a whole lot of millionaires to boot."
At the close of business on Thursday, Aug. 23, according to the U.S. Treasury, the federal government’s debt stood at $15,976,519,029,144.14. That left it $23,480,970,855.86 short of the $16 trillion mark.
So far in this fiscal year (from Oct. 1 through Aug. 23), the debt has grown by an average of $3,616,398,477.40 per calendar day ($1,186,178,700,586.99 divided by 328 days). Were the debt to grow at that pace in the week following last Thursday’s close of $15.976 trillion, it would hit $16 trillion this Thursday--the day Mitt Romney is scheduled to give his speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination.
However, the debt does not grow in a steady, unbroken daily pace. Instead, it expands and retracts from day to day during the business week depending on the value of the bonds the U.S. Treasury sells and redeems. On a day that the Treasury derives more revenue from selling bonds than it pays out to redeem bonds, the debt increases.
Last Wednesday, for example, the debt actually declined by almost $9.7 billion--from $15,970,134,937,605.00 to $15,960,468,522,111.20—as the Treasury redeemed bonds of greater value than it sold. However, on Thursday, the debt increased by slightly more than $16 billion, ending that day at $15,976,519,029,144.14.
Also, the Treasury does not report the value of the debt reached at the close of any business day until 4:00 pm on the following business day. For example, the value of the government’s debt as of the close of business on Friday will not be officially reported by the Treasury until 4:00 pm on Monday—and the value of the debt as of the close of business this Thursday will not be reported until 4:00 pm this Friday.
President George W. Bush met with President-elect Barack Obama and former Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office on Jan. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/File Photo)
Thus, under Obama, the debt has increased more than under all presidents from George Washington through George H.W. Bush combined.
During President George W. Bush’s two terms in office, the debt increased $4,899,100,310,608.44. That is also more than all the debt accumulated by all previous presidents from George Washington through George H.W. Bush combined.
Nonetheless, the $5,349,641,980,231.06 in new debt accumulated in less than four years under Obama is more than the $4,899,100,310,608.44 in new debt accumulated in eight full years under George W. Bush.
According to data reported by the IRS earlier this year, there were 81,890,189 tax returns filed for 2009 that showed taxable income. That means the total debt of the United States now equals $195,096.86 for each 2009 federal taxpayer.
The $5,349,641,980,231.06 in new debt accumulated just during Obama's time in office equals about $65,327 per taxpayer.
House Speaker John Boehner speaks at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s 2012 fiscal summit in Washingon on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 (AP Photo)
The Republicans won a majority in the House of Representatives in the November 2010 election. However, the Republican-controlled House did not gain a veto over federal spending until March 4, 2011, when a continuing resolution passed by a lame-duck Congress in December 2010 expired. Since March 4, 2011, the government has been funded by a series of spending deals made between House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Barack Obama.
Since the first Boehner-Obama spending deal, which took effect on March 4, 2011, the debt has increased by $1,793,891,844,263.11. That equals about $21,906.07 per taxpayer.
President Obama proposed a fiscal 2013 budget that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, called for $6.39 trillion in deficit spending in the ten years from fiscal 2013 through fiscal 2022. During those ten years, according to CBO’s analysis, the annual deficit would never drop below $488 billion, a level it would hit in 2017. Under Obama’s budget proposal, according to CBO, annual deficits would start to grow again after 2017, hitting $510 billion in 2018, $602 billion in 2019, $638 billion in 2020, $678 billion in 2021, and $728 billion in 2022.
In fiscal 2008, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget, the federal government spent $2.982 trillion. In fiscal 2012, it will spend an estimated $3.795 trillion
Source
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Monday, August 13, 2012
Philadelphia Archdiocese selling top properties to cut deficit
Dave Warner
Reuters
6:44 p.m. CDT, August 13, 2012
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The financially strapped Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia said on Monday it will proceed with plans to sell major facilities in an effort to close a multimillion-dollar budget deficit.
The sale includes the archbishop's residence in Philadelphia, a rural Pennsylvania retreat center and a 19-room beachfront mansion in Ventnor, New Jersey, used by vacationing elderly priests, the Church said.
The archdiocese faces a budget gap estimated at $6 million, a spokeswoman said. It also faces legal costs stemming from a pedophilia scandal estimated at more than $11 million.
"To address the cash flow challenges caused by the deficits, the church is faced with hard decisions," said Archbishop Charles Chaput in a statement. "It's similar to what families have to do when their expenses are greater than income."
Chaput said the archdiocese has been running a deficit for years.
The archdiocese was involved in the high-profile trial of Monsignor William Lynn, who was found guilty in June of covering up child sex abuse, and it faces the possibility of dozens of civil suits in the priest pedophilia scandal.
The spokeswoman for the archdiocese said the legal costs are separate from the budget deficit.
The proposed sales of the archbishop's residence and the New Jersey shore villa had been announced earlier but were confirmed on Monday.
The villa, assessed at more than $6 million and located near Atlantic City, will be sold at auction on September 15, according to auction house Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Co.
The archdiocese has owned the 11-bedroom mansion, with 175 feet of beachfront, since 1963 when it was sold to the Church by a family for $1,000.
Along with the archbishop's residence in Philadelphia and the 452-acre (182-hectare) Mary Immaculate Retreat Center in Northampton, north of Philadelphia, the Church said it also will be selling the Holy Family Center, a Philadelphia facility used by charities and social service agencies.
The real estate sales come after 40 staff members at the archdiocese were let go in June.
(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Xavier Briand)
Friday, August 26, 2011
Bernanke Offers No Plan for New Stimulus
By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM
Published: August 26, 2011
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, said Friday that the economy was recovering and the nation’s long-term prospects remained strong, an upbeat assessment that offered little indication of any plans for additional measures to bolster short-term growth.
Mr. Bernanke’s much-anticipated remarks follow the Fed’s announcement earlier this month that it intended to hold short-term interest rates near zero until at least the middle of 2013, a reflection of its view that growth will not be fast enough during that period to drive up wages and prices.
“With respect to longer-run prospects, however, my own view is more optimistic,” Mr. Bernanke said in his prepared remarks. “The growth fundamentals of the United States do not appear to have been permanently altered by the shocks of the past four years.”
Mr. Bernanke was careful to note that the nation faces significant challenges, including high unemployment and an unsustainable federal debt. But the speech, delivered at a policy conference held each August in Grand Teton National Park, marked a return to the Fed’s position earlier this year that the Fed has done most of what it can, and that the rest of the government must do more.
Indeed, Mr. Bernanke devoted much of his speech to fiscal policy, rather than the monetary policy that is the Fed’s primary responsibility. And he offered an unusual critique of the government’s handling of those issues.
“The country would be well-served by a better process for making fiscal decisions,” he said, noting that the political battle over raising the debt-ceiling had disrupted the financial markets “and probably the economy as well.”
Mr. Bernanke suggested a different process, involving “clear and transparent budget goals, together with budget mechanisms to establish the credibility of these goals.”
The conference, held each August at a resort in Jackson Hole, has become a key event on the Fed’s annual calendar, in part because Mr. Bernanke and his predecessors have made a habit of coming here to clarify their views and intentions.
Last year Mr. Bernanke used his remarks to provide the first clear indication that the Fed intended to launch a second round of asset purchases. The Fed went on to buy $600 billion in Treasury securities between November and June, increasing its total portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage securities to more than $2.5 trillion.
This year’s speech offered little if any indication that something similar is in store. Mr. Bernanke made his standard announcement that the Fed would take any steps necessary to help the economy, and he said the issue would be discussed at the next meeting of the Fed’s policy-making board, in late September. But noticeable by its absence was a list of the measures the Fed might take, something Mr. Bernanke has provided on several occasions earlier this year.
“Most of the economic policies that support robust economic growth in the long run are outside the province of the central bank,” he said.
The Fed is operating in an unusually charged political environment. Several Republican candidates for president have sharply criticized the Fed’s existing efforts and expressed disapproval of any new steps. Mr. Bernanke opened the conference Wednesday night with a brief speech, during which he mentioned that he had attended a rodeo with his wife earlier this week. The announcer, he said, asked the crowd to sing the national anthem even though many of them were angry about decisions made by people in Washington.
Mr. Bernanke has previously described other steps that the Fed could take. Perhaps the most modest would be a similar commitment to maintain the size of the Fed’s investment portfolio for a fixed period. The central bank has accumulated more than $2 trillion in low-risk mortgage securities and Treasuries in an effort to reduce longer-term interest rates and to push investors to buy riskier assets, such as stocks and corporate debt.
A related but more aggressive step would involve changing the kinds of assets that the Fed owns while maintaining the size of the portfolio. By selling bonds that mature in the near future, and buying bonds with more distant maturities, the Fed might be able to increase the downward pressure it is exerting on longer-term rates.
The most dramatic option available to the central bank would be an announcement that it intends to increase the total size of the portfolio. This is what markets refer to as “QE3,” meaning that it would represent a third round of the strategy known as quantitative easing.
There are other actions the Fed could take that are not directly related to its portfolio. The central bank pays interest on the reserves that banks keep on deposit with the Fed. Reducing those rates, an option Mr. Bernanke and others have mentioned, could give banks a greater incentive to lend. But banks already are awash in cash and most economists — including Fed officials — doubt the utility of such a step.
Published: August 26, 2011
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, said Friday that the economy was recovering and the nation’s long-term prospects remained strong, an upbeat assessment that offered little indication of any plans for additional measures to bolster short-term growth.
Reed Saxon/Associated Press
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, right, and Jean-Claude Trichet, head of the European Central Bank, at Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday.
“With respect to longer-run prospects, however, my own view is more optimistic,” Mr. Bernanke said in his prepared remarks. “The growth fundamentals of the United States do not appear to have been permanently altered by the shocks of the past four years.”
Mr. Bernanke was careful to note that the nation faces significant challenges, including high unemployment and an unsustainable federal debt. But the speech, delivered at a policy conference held each August in Grand Teton National Park, marked a return to the Fed’s position earlier this year that the Fed has done most of what it can, and that the rest of the government must do more.
Indeed, Mr. Bernanke devoted much of his speech to fiscal policy, rather than the monetary policy that is the Fed’s primary responsibility. And he offered an unusual critique of the government’s handling of those issues.
“The country would be well-served by a better process for making fiscal decisions,” he said, noting that the political battle over raising the debt-ceiling had disrupted the financial markets “and probably the economy as well.”
Mr. Bernanke suggested a different process, involving “clear and transparent budget goals, together with budget mechanisms to establish the credibility of these goals.”
The conference, held each August at a resort in Jackson Hole, has become a key event on the Fed’s annual calendar, in part because Mr. Bernanke and his predecessors have made a habit of coming here to clarify their views and intentions.
Last year Mr. Bernanke used his remarks to provide the first clear indication that the Fed intended to launch a second round of asset purchases. The Fed went on to buy $600 billion in Treasury securities between November and June, increasing its total portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage securities to more than $2.5 trillion.
This year’s speech offered little if any indication that something similar is in store. Mr. Bernanke made his standard announcement that the Fed would take any steps necessary to help the economy, and he said the issue would be discussed at the next meeting of the Fed’s policy-making board, in late September. But noticeable by its absence was a list of the measures the Fed might take, something Mr. Bernanke has provided on several occasions earlier this year.
“Most of the economic policies that support robust economic growth in the long run are outside the province of the central bank,” he said.
The Fed is operating in an unusually charged political environment. Several Republican candidates for president have sharply criticized the Fed’s existing efforts and expressed disapproval of any new steps. Mr. Bernanke opened the conference Wednesday night with a brief speech, during which he mentioned that he had attended a rodeo with his wife earlier this week. The announcer, he said, asked the crowd to sing the national anthem even though many of them were angry about decisions made by people in Washington.
Mr. Bernanke has previously described other steps that the Fed could take. Perhaps the most modest would be a similar commitment to maintain the size of the Fed’s investment portfolio for a fixed period. The central bank has accumulated more than $2 trillion in low-risk mortgage securities and Treasuries in an effort to reduce longer-term interest rates and to push investors to buy riskier assets, such as stocks and corporate debt.
A related but more aggressive step would involve changing the kinds of assets that the Fed owns while maintaining the size of the portfolio. By selling bonds that mature in the near future, and buying bonds with more distant maturities, the Fed might be able to increase the downward pressure it is exerting on longer-term rates.
The most dramatic option available to the central bank would be an announcement that it intends to increase the total size of the portfolio. This is what markets refer to as “QE3,” meaning that it would represent a third round of the strategy known as quantitative easing.
There are other actions the Fed could take that are not directly related to its portfolio. The central bank pays interest on the reserves that banks keep on deposit with the Fed. Reducing those rates, an option Mr. Bernanke and others have mentioned, could give banks a greater incentive to lend. But banks already are awash in cash and most economists — including Fed officials — doubt the utility of such a step.
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Thursday, July 01, 2010
The recovery seems to be losing its pop
Jobless claims rise, housing and auto demand sinks
By Christopher Rugaber
WASHINGTON — Fears that the economic recovery is fizzling grew Thursday after the government and private sector issued weak reports on a number of fronts.
Unemployment claims are up, home sales are plunging without government incentives and manufacturing growth is slowing.
Meanwhile, 1.3 million people are without federal jobless benefits now that Congress adjourned for a weeklong Independence Day recess without passing an extension. That number could grow to 3.3 million by the end of the month if lawmakers can't resolve the issue when they return.
Readers: We want to hear from you about Millennial job discrimination
All of this worries economists. As jobless claims grow and benefits shrink, Americans have less money to spend and the economy can't grow fast enough to create new jobs. Some are revising their forecasts for growth in the third quarter. Others are afraid the country is on the verge of falling back into a recession.
"We find the level and direction in jobless claims somewhat troubling and the increase is likely to feed double-dip fears," said John Ryding, an economist at RDQ Economics in a note to clients.
New claims for benefits jumped by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 472,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, which smoothes fluctuations, rose to 466,500, its highest level since March.
Job worries have begun to take their toll on auto sales, which had been climbing. Sales at Detroit's Big Three automakers fell from May to June: Ford's U.S. sales fell 13 percent in June; GM's sales of cars and trucks dropped nearly 13 percent; and Chrysler's sales slid 12 percent.
Claims have remained stuck above 450,000 since the beginning of the year. Requests for unemployment benefits dropped steadily last year after reaching a peak of 651,000 in March 2009. Economists say they will feel more confident about sustained job growth when initial claims fall below 425,000
Adding to that is the growing number of people who stand to lose government support while they search for work.
For the third time in as many weeks, Senate Republicans blocked a bill Wednesday night that would have continued unemployment checks to people who have been laid off for long stretches. The House voted 270-153 Thursday to extend jobless benefits Thursday, though the Senate's action renders the vote a futile gesture as Congress prepares to depart Washington for its holiday recess.
During the recession, Congress added up to 73 weeks of extra benefits on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states. Democrats in the House and Senate want them extended through November. Republicans want the $34 billion cost of the bill to be paid for with money remaining from last year's stimulus package. Democrats argue that it is emergency spending and should be added to the deficit.
By Christopher Rugaber
Matt Rourke / AP file
In this June 23, 2010 photo, Frank Wallace, who has been unemployed since May of 2009, is seen during a rally organized by the Philadelphia Unemployment Project, in Philadelphia. by Christopher S. Rugaber
updated 1 hour 26 minutes ago
In this June 23, 2010 photo, Frank Wallace, who has been unemployed since May of 2009, is seen during a rally organized by the Philadelphia Unemployment Project, in Philadelphia. by Christopher S. Rugaber
updated 1 hour 26 minutes ago
WASHINGTON — Fears that the economic recovery is fizzling grew Thursday after the government and private sector issued weak reports on a number of fronts.
Unemployment claims are up, home sales are plunging without government incentives and manufacturing growth is slowing.
Meanwhile, 1.3 million people are without federal jobless benefits now that Congress adjourned for a weeklong Independence Day recess without passing an extension. That number could grow to 3.3 million by the end of the month if lawmakers can't resolve the issue when they return.
Readers: We want to hear from you about Millennial job discrimination
All of this worries economists. As jobless claims grow and benefits shrink, Americans have less money to spend and the economy can't grow fast enough to create new jobs. Some are revising their forecasts for growth in the third quarter. Others are afraid the country is on the verge of falling back into a recession.
"We find the level and direction in jobless claims somewhat troubling and the increase is likely to feed double-dip fears," said John Ryding, an economist at RDQ Economics in a note to clients.
New claims for benefits jumped by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 472,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, which smoothes fluctuations, rose to 466,500, its highest level since March.
Job worries have begun to take their toll on auto sales, which had been climbing. Sales at Detroit's Big Three automakers fell from May to June: Ford's U.S. sales fell 13 percent in June; GM's sales of cars and trucks dropped nearly 13 percent; and Chrysler's sales slid 12 percent.
Claims have remained stuck above 450,000 since the beginning of the year. Requests for unemployment benefits dropped steadily last year after reaching a peak of 651,000 in March 2009. Economists say they will feel more confident about sustained job growth when initial claims fall below 425,000
Adding to that is the growing number of people who stand to lose government support while they search for work.
For the third time in as many weeks, Senate Republicans blocked a bill Wednesday night that would have continued unemployment checks to people who have been laid off for long stretches. The House voted 270-153 Thursday to extend jobless benefits Thursday, though the Senate's action renders the vote a futile gesture as Congress prepares to depart Washington for its holiday recess.
During the recession, Congress added up to 73 weeks of extra benefits on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states. Democrats in the House and Senate want them extended through November. Republicans want the $34 billion cost of the bill to be paid for with money remaining from last year's stimulus package. Democrats argue that it is emergency spending and should be added to the deficit.
During the recession, Congress added up to 73 weeks of extra benefits on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states. Democrats in the House and Senate want them extended through November. Republicans want the $34 billion cost of the bill to be paid for with money remaining from last year's stimulus package. Democrats argue that it is emergency spending and should be added to the deficit.
The total number of people continuing to claim benefits rose by 43,000 to 4.6 million, the department said. But the number of people collecting extended benefits fell by 376,000, as Republican lawmakers have refused to continue the extra aid. About 4.9 million people continue to collect emergency aid.
Some economists say they may revise their forecasts for growth in the third quarter if the benefits are not extended.
"People whose benefits are going to run out will simply not have the spending power necessary to help drive growth," said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak.
The housing market is also weighing on the economy. The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase homes tumbled 30 percent in May, the National Association of Realtors said. And construction spending declined 0.2 percent in May as residential building fell, the Commerce Department said.
Both were affected by the expiration of government incentives to buy homes. Buyers had until April 30 to sign sales contracts and qualify for tax credits.
The tax credit's impact also showed up in the jobless claims report. Greater layoffs by construction firms fueled the increase, a Labor Department analyst said.
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management, an industry trade group, said its manufacturing index slipped in June. But it is still at a level that suggests growth in the industrial sector, which has helped drive the economic recovery.
Story continues below More below Advertisement ad infoSponsored links Marketplace .
Surveys released Thursday in China showed a slowdown in factories' growth as exports faltered and analysts worry that cutbacks in government lending will cool the economy's rapid rise. Reports from Markit Economics also indicated that manufacturing sector growth in India, South Korea, Australia and Taiwan was slowing.
The industrial sector's growth also cooled slightly in the 16 countries using the euro and the United Kingdom.
The troubling information on the economy comes a day before the Labor Department is scheduled to release the June jobs report. That is expected to show a modest rebound in private-sector hiring. Overall, employers are expected to cut a net total of 110,000 positions, but that includes the loss of about 240,000 temporary census jobs. Private employers are projected to add 112,000 jobs, according to a survey of economists by Thomson Reuters.
That would be an improvement from May, when businesses added only 41,000 workers. But the economy needs to generate at least 100,000 net new jobs per month to keep up with population growth, and probably twice that number to bring down the jobless rate.
The unemployment rate is expected to edge up to 9.8 percent from 9.7 percent in May.
Layoffs are rising in the public sector, as states and local governments struggle to close persistent budget gaps. New York City approved a budget Tuesday that cuts about $1 billion in spending and would eliminate 5,300 jobs from the city's 300,000-person work force.
The total number of people continuing to claim benefits rose by 43,000 to 4.6 million, the department said. But the number of people collecting extended benefits fell by 376,000, as Republican lawmakers have refused to continue the extra aid. About 4.9 million people continue to collect emergency aid.
Some economists say they may revise their forecasts for growth in the third quarter if the benefits are not extended.
"People whose benefits are going to run out will simply not have the spending power necessary to help drive growth," said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak.
The housing market is also weighing on the economy. The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase homes tumbled 30 percent in May, the National Association of Realtors said. And construction spending declined 0.2 percent in May as residential building fell, the Commerce Department said.
Both were affected by the expiration of government incentives to buy homes. Buyers had until April 30 to sign sales contracts and qualify for tax credits.
The tax credit's impact also showed up in the jobless claims report. Greater layoffs by construction firms fueled the increase, a Labor Department analyst said.
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management, an industry trade group, said its manufacturing index slipped in June. But it is still at a level that suggests growth in the industrial sector, which has helped drive the economic recovery.
Story continues below More below Advertisement ad infoSponsored links Marketplace .
Surveys released Thursday in China showed a slowdown in factories' growth as exports faltered and analysts worry that cutbacks in government lending will cool the economy's rapid rise. Reports from Markit Economics also indicated that manufacturing sector growth in India, South Korea, Australia and Taiwan was slowing.
The industrial sector's growth also cooled slightly in the 16 countries using the euro and the United Kingdom.
The troubling information on the economy comes a day before the Labor Department is scheduled to release the June jobs report. That is expected to show a modest rebound in private-sector hiring. Overall, employers are expected to cut a net total of 110,000 positions, but that includes the loss of about 240,000 temporary census jobs. Private employers are projected to add 112,000 jobs, according to a survey of economists by Thomson Reuters.
That would be an improvement from May, when businesses added only 41,000 workers. But the economy needs to generate at least 100,000 net new jobs per month to keep up with population growth, and probably twice that number to bring down the jobless rate.
The unemployment rate is expected to edge up to 9.8 percent from 9.7 percent in May.
Layoffs are rising in the public sector, as states and local governments struggle to close persistent budget gaps. New York City approved a budget Tuesday that cuts about $1 billion in spending and would eliminate 5,300 jobs from the city's 300,000-person work force.
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Monday, February 01, 2010
Obama budget: Record spending, record deficit
(02-01) 10:33 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --
President Barack Obama unveiled a multitrillion-dollar spending plan Monday, pledging an intensified effort to combat high unemployment and asking Congress to quickly approve new job-creation efforts that would boost the deficit to a record-breaking $1.56 trillion.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/01/31/national/w112530S83.DTL#ixzz0eJmhnCRN
Related:
2011 United States federal budget - $3.83 trillion (submitted 2010 by President Obama)
2010 United States federal budget - $3.55 trillion (submitted 2009 by President Obama)
2009 United States federal budget - $3.10 trillion (submitted 2008 by President Bush)
2008 United States federal budget - $2.90 trillion (submitted 2007 by President Bush)
2007 United States federal budget - $2.77 trillion (submitted 2006 by President Bush)
2006 United States federal budget - $2.7 trillion (submitted 2005 by President Bush)
2005 United States federal budget - $2.4 trillion (submitted 2004 by President Bush)
2004 United States federal budget - $2.3 trillion (submitted 2003 by President Bush)
2003 United States federal budget - $2.2 trillion (submitted 2002 by President Bush)
2002 United States federal budget - $2.0 trillion (submitted 2001 by President Bush)
2001 United States federal budget - $1.9 trillion (submitted 2000 by President Clinton)
2000 United States federal budget - $1.8 trillion (submitted 1999 by President Clinton)
1999 United States federal budget - $1.7 trillion (submitted 1998 by President Clinton)
1998 United States federal budget - $1.7 trillion (submitted 1997 by President Clinton)
1997 United States federal budget - $1.63 trillion (submitted 1996 by President Clinton)
1996 United States federal budget - $1.6 trillion (submitted 1995 by President Clinton)
2010 United States federal budget - $3.55 trillion (submitted 2009 by President Obama)
2009 United States federal budget - $3.10 trillion (submitted 2008 by President Bush)
2008 United States federal budget - $2.90 trillion (submitted 2007 by President Bush)
2007 United States federal budget - $2.77 trillion (submitted 2006 by President Bush)
2006 United States federal budget - $2.7 trillion (submitted 2005 by President Bush)
2005 United States federal budget - $2.4 trillion (submitted 2004 by President Bush)
2004 United States federal budget - $2.3 trillion (submitted 2003 by President Bush)
2003 United States federal budget - $2.2 trillion (submitted 2002 by President Bush)
2002 United States federal budget - $2.0 trillion (submitted 2001 by President Bush)
2001 United States federal budget - $1.9 trillion (submitted 2000 by President Clinton)
2000 United States federal budget - $1.8 trillion (submitted 1999 by President Clinton)
1999 United States federal budget - $1.7 trillion (submitted 1998 by President Clinton)
1998 United States federal budget - $1.7 trillion (submitted 1997 by President Clinton)
1997 United States federal budget - $1.63 trillion (submitted 1996 by President Clinton)
1996 United States federal budget - $1.6 trillion (submitted 1995 by President Clinton)
..
Monday, October 19, 2009
MADE IN CHINA: IMPORTING AMERICA TO ITS OWN DEATH
By Frosty Wooldridge
October 19, 2009
NewsWithViews.com
During the Bolshevik Revolution that led to communist Russia, Comrade Vladimir Lenin said, “Sell the capitalists enough rope and they will hang themselves!”
Nearly 100 years later, Lenin’s predictions reveal his veracity with chilling fruition. The United States bleeds $11 trillion in debt. It suffers a $700 billion annual trade deficit, mostly with China, which by the way thrives as a communist nation selling us lots of ‘rope’, i.e., consumer goods. We import another $700 billion in oil annually from other countries. We borrow $2 billion daily to float our sinking economy. The average American’s credit card debt equals $9,425.00 according to NBC’s Brian Williams. We suffer 15 million unemployed American workers and 35 million subsisting on food stamps.
How did Lenin’s foreshadowing come to pass? How could he know that we would bring our downfall upon ourselves?
First of all, every empire in history fell to its own manifest destiny (ego), avarice and greed. Today, the U.S. empire features 572,000 military personnel on 700 bases in 120 countries around the world. Their purpose? Few Americans could tell you! The costs accelerate to unimaginable levels.
Secondly, major capitalists, the ‘gatekeepers’ or money changers, however you want to call them, ‘own’ the power to make their choices realized. Some call them the Rothchilds, Bilderbergers, etc. The fact remains, they pull all the money strings. We remain their puppets.
For instance, in the past 15 years, the second richest man in the world, Bill Gates, ‘persuaded’ our U.S. Congress to implement H-1B, H-2B and L-1 visas that brought foreign workers into this country to displace 1.0 million U.S. IT workers. How? Those visa beneficiaries arrived from third world countries and worked at a third the wage. Additionally, big manufacturing firms insourced jobs, outsourced jobs and offshored jobs. Maytag moved to Mexico. Levi Straus moved to India. Schwinn bikes moved to Taiwan, etc.
If you visit a Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Sears, Penny’s, Kohl’s and hundreds of other retail outlets, you will notice 80 to 90 percent of the hard and soft goods “Made in China”; “Made in Mexico”: “Made in Pakistan”: “Made in Bangladesh,” etc. The most popular cars sold in America originate from Japan, Korea and Germany.
Each year, China sells the United States $700 billion in goods. Unlike Clinton, we ‘inhale’ that much junk from China! The United States sells China $67 billion in goods annually as reported by Charles Gibson on ABC last week! How’s that for ‘free trade’ and you can see the communists figured out how to sell us enough ‘rope’ to kill ourselves—and we are! China holds nearly $1 trillion of our treasury bills. We feel the squeeze of our debt every year as we pay out over $540 billion in interest on our debt. Our leaders ‘keep’ us fighting at a cost to taxpayers of $12 billion a month wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for eight friggin’ years! Are you feeling incensed?
If you look inside the USA, you see Hormel, Tyson Chicken, McDonald’s, Berger Chef, Pizza Hut, Chipotle’s, Taco Bell, and many more as well as construction firms, landscaping firms, roofing firms and car washes hiring unlawful immigrants by the millions. At least 10 million unlawful immigrants work jobs at 21st century slave wages while our citizens stand in unemployment lines or live on welfare. At the same time, we lose our jobs to illegal aliens, or see our wages downgraded, or watch our schools, culture and language vanish in front of our eyes—those few corporate chiefs make horrific profits—while we pay for illegal aliens’ educations, medical care and incarceration. How did we arrive at this obscene juncture?
Because our corrupt capitalists can make many more billions of dollars! And, they can get away with it because their lobbyists “pay off” our U.S. Senators and House Reps to NOT enforce our laws against such activities. Of recent note, former U.S. House Rep. John “Duke” Cunningham serving an eight year jail sentence for taking $2.4 million in construction bribes. How about House Rep. William Jefferson hiding $100,000 in cash in his freezer?
How many scoundrel U.S. Congressional reps haven’t been caught? My estimate: dozens if not a hundred in the U.S. House and Senate.
Notice also, that AIG just awarded more annual bonuses of $6 to $10 million to their corporate bosses—after failing—and after we taxpayers bailed them out!
You cannot help but lament, “What a country!”
Not only that, we citizens fail to demand accountability. We citizens shop at Wal-Mart, Home Depot and other stores by the millions, which means we kill our own American jobs and manufacturing.
How can I say that? Just look at our economy. We’re in debt up to our nostrils! We’re dangling at the end of an economic rope bull-hooked into our wallets by 535 members of U.S. Congress and the last four presidents. And our newest president, Barack Obama, rides and talks the same bull!
As Mark Twain once said, “Suppose you were an idiot; and suppose you were a member of congress—ah, but I repeat myself.”
The greatest flaw of our founding fathers: not placing a 12 year term limit on every position in Congress. The cronyism, personal greed and outright materialism of most of them defy a sane man’s imagination.
Amazingly, the American voters stupidly re-elect such men as the late Teddy Kennedy for 44 years of incompetence, John McCain for 30 years of failing to protect our borders, Robert Byrd who can barely totter across the Senate floor, Arlen Spector with full blown cancer for 35 years and the list grows. Those men and some women bring death to this republic, but we elect them again and again to kill us and our futures.
You might think that importing 160,000 foreigners every month, in the form of legal immigrants, would stop with 14 million Americans unemployed and 35 million living on food stamps. But you would be wrong! Not only will Congress continue, but those 535 men and women will vote for an amnesty that will lead to adding 100 million people to this country in 26 years, over 70 million immigrants.
Lenin’s prophesy continues and Mark Twain remains right on the money—while the American people watch their language, culture and way of life swirl the toilet. America: made “in” and owned “by” China!
October 19, 2009
NewsWithViews.com
During the Bolshevik Revolution that led to communist Russia, Comrade Vladimir Lenin said, “Sell the capitalists enough rope and they will hang themselves!”
Nearly 100 years later, Lenin’s predictions reveal his veracity with chilling fruition. The United States bleeds $11 trillion in debt. It suffers a $700 billion annual trade deficit, mostly with China, which by the way thrives as a communist nation selling us lots of ‘rope’, i.e., consumer goods. We import another $700 billion in oil annually from other countries. We borrow $2 billion daily to float our sinking economy. The average American’s credit card debt equals $9,425.00 according to NBC’s Brian Williams. We suffer 15 million unemployed American workers and 35 million subsisting on food stamps.
How did Lenin’s foreshadowing come to pass? How could he know that we would bring our downfall upon ourselves?
First of all, every empire in history fell to its own manifest destiny (ego), avarice and greed. Today, the U.S. empire features 572,000 military personnel on 700 bases in 120 countries around the world. Their purpose? Few Americans could tell you! The costs accelerate to unimaginable levels.
Secondly, major capitalists, the ‘gatekeepers’ or money changers, however you want to call them, ‘own’ the power to make their choices realized. Some call them the Rothchilds, Bilderbergers, etc. The fact remains, they pull all the money strings. We remain their puppets.
For instance, in the past 15 years, the second richest man in the world, Bill Gates, ‘persuaded’ our U.S. Congress to implement H-1B, H-2B and L-1 visas that brought foreign workers into this country to displace 1.0 million U.S. IT workers. How? Those visa beneficiaries arrived from third world countries and worked at a third the wage. Additionally, big manufacturing firms insourced jobs, outsourced jobs and offshored jobs. Maytag moved to Mexico. Levi Straus moved to India. Schwinn bikes moved to Taiwan, etc.
If you visit a Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Sears, Penny’s, Kohl’s and hundreds of other retail outlets, you will notice 80 to 90 percent of the hard and soft goods “Made in China”; “Made in Mexico”: “Made in Pakistan”: “Made in Bangladesh,” etc. The most popular cars sold in America originate from Japan, Korea and Germany.
Each year, China sells the United States $700 billion in goods. Unlike Clinton, we ‘inhale’ that much junk from China! The United States sells China $67 billion in goods annually as reported by Charles Gibson on ABC last week! How’s that for ‘free trade’ and you can see the communists figured out how to sell us enough ‘rope’ to kill ourselves—and we are! China holds nearly $1 trillion of our treasury bills. We feel the squeeze of our debt every year as we pay out over $540 billion in interest on our debt. Our leaders ‘keep’ us fighting at a cost to taxpayers of $12 billion a month wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for eight friggin’ years! Are you feeling incensed?
If you look inside the USA, you see Hormel, Tyson Chicken, McDonald’s, Berger Chef, Pizza Hut, Chipotle’s, Taco Bell, and many more as well as construction firms, landscaping firms, roofing firms and car washes hiring unlawful immigrants by the millions. At least 10 million unlawful immigrants work jobs at 21st century slave wages while our citizens stand in unemployment lines or live on welfare. At the same time, we lose our jobs to illegal aliens, or see our wages downgraded, or watch our schools, culture and language vanish in front of our eyes—those few corporate chiefs make horrific profits—while we pay for illegal aliens’ educations, medical care and incarceration. How did we arrive at this obscene juncture?
Because our corrupt capitalists can make many more billions of dollars! And, they can get away with it because their lobbyists “pay off” our U.S. Senators and House Reps to NOT enforce our laws against such activities. Of recent note, former U.S. House Rep. John “Duke” Cunningham serving an eight year jail sentence for taking $2.4 million in construction bribes. How about House Rep. William Jefferson hiding $100,000 in cash in his freezer?
How many scoundrel U.S. Congressional reps haven’t been caught? My estimate: dozens if not a hundred in the U.S. House and Senate.
Notice also, that AIG just awarded more annual bonuses of $6 to $10 million to their corporate bosses—after failing—and after we taxpayers bailed them out!
You cannot help but lament, “What a country!”
Not only that, we citizens fail to demand accountability. We citizens shop at Wal-Mart, Home Depot and other stores by the millions, which means we kill our own American jobs and manufacturing.
How can I say that? Just look at our economy. We’re in debt up to our nostrils! We’re dangling at the end of an economic rope bull-hooked into our wallets by 535 members of U.S. Congress and the last four presidents. And our newest president, Barack Obama, rides and talks the same bull!
As Mark Twain once said, “Suppose you were an idiot; and suppose you were a member of congress—ah, but I repeat myself.”
The greatest flaw of our founding fathers: not placing a 12 year term limit on every position in Congress. The cronyism, personal greed and outright materialism of most of them defy a sane man’s imagination.
Amazingly, the American voters stupidly re-elect such men as the late Teddy Kennedy for 44 years of incompetence, John McCain for 30 years of failing to protect our borders, Robert Byrd who can barely totter across the Senate floor, Arlen Spector with full blown cancer for 35 years and the list grows. Those men and some women bring death to this republic, but we elect them again and again to kill us and our futures.
You might think that importing 160,000 foreigners every month, in the form of legal immigrants, would stop with 14 million Americans unemployed and 35 million living on food stamps. But you would be wrong! Not only will Congress continue, but those 535 men and women will vote for an amnesty that will lead to adding 100 million people to this country in 26 years, over 70 million immigrants.
Lenin’s prophesy continues and Mark Twain remains right on the money—while the American people watch their language, culture and way of life swirl the toilet. America: made “in” and owned “by” China!
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