The budget (credibility) gap

The Washington times ^ | August 27, 2006 | The Washington Times

[TLI]

August 27, 2006

Ever since the BUSH White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued its Mid-Session Review last month, the administration has been doing cartwheels celebrating the fact that the budget deficit for fiscal 2006, which ends on Sept. 30, 2006, will be less than $300 billion.

After the administration projected a 2006 deficit of $296 billion last month, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently estimated that the 2006 deficit would be $260 billion. Compared to recent deficits of $377 billion (2003), $413 billion (2004) and $318 billion (2005), a deficit of $260 billion does represent some improvement. But it is improvement based on a pitiful standard.

As recently as 2000, the federal government ran a budget surplus of $236 billion. Also keep in mind that fiscal 2006 represents the fifth year of an economic expansion. So, moving from a surplus of $236 billion near the peak of one business cycle to a deficit of $260 billion in the fifth year of the expansion in the next cycle effectively represents a half-trillion-dollar deterioration in the fiscal balance -- hardly a reason for celebration.

[TLI]

The communist democrats took both houses of congress in 2006 and in just a fraction over two years we went from a Federal Deficit of roughly 300 Bill., up to almost 2 TRILLION.

Again, that would be under the control of the communist DEMOCRATS.

[tomnbeverly]

Exactly when Obama says the deficit is inherited ... he stops short of saying from WHOM...

The mass Public believes BUSH left Obama this deficit and yes Bush has a responsibility of about 40 percent because he did nothing to stop the reckless Democrats but Bush had a war to win in Iraq and I think he sold his fiscal soul to win that war that issue is open to fair and constructive debate... but...

The FACT is it was the DEMOCRAT CONTROLLED CONGRESS led by Pelosi and Reid that approved the budgets and monies that caused the deficit.

NOTE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THE PRESIDENT CANNOT APPROPRIATE MONEY, THAT FUNCTION BELONGS TO CONGRESS IAW THE CONSTITUTION>

[Lucky9teen]

His idea of cutting the deficit is to make it so high, that by the time he "cuts" it, it'll be half of how high he made it and it's STILL higher than what Bush left. God, he's such a maroon.

[IrishMike]

Markets plunge to 1997 levels. Surprisingly no mention of Obama’s “swindle-us” package.
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Shocker !

[Realism]

The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (Pub.L. 107-16, 115 Stat. 38, June 7, 2001), was a sweeping piece of tax legislation in the United States with a price tag of $1.6 Trillion Dollars.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the tax cuts would increase budget deficits by $60 billion in 2003 and by $340 billion by 2008.

[2001convSVT]

A better chart would have who controls congress. All spending originates in congress.

[jpl]

$1.75 trillion is $4.8 billion a day, and at that rate would add new debt equivalent to about half the nation’s GDP in just one term!