Soaring deficits cast a shadow over the dollar(doomed marriage of convenience bet Zero & Ben)

The Times (UK) ^ | 08/30/09 | Irwin Stelzer

[TigerLikesRooster]

Soaring deficits cast a shadow over the dollar

Irwin Stelzer: American Account

Recommend? (3)

$2,000,000,000,000. That’s the amount by which the Obama administration raised its 10-year estimate of the nation’s budget deficit from the $7 trillion it guessed only a few months ago, a 30% error. It seems that expenses are higher than estimated — up 24% this year, the largest increase since the height of the Korean war — and revenues are lower.

There’s worse. The new estimate assumes that Medicare and Medicaid (government healthcare) spending will be cut by $622 billion, even though Congress has made it known that it is reluctant to make any such cut. Then there is the $600 billion in revenue included for the sale of emission permits, despite the fact that The House of Representatives has given away so many permits gratis that the programme will produce at most $450 billion. Those two items alone come to almost another $1 trillion in red ink. Throw in another $1 trillion for Obamacare, recognise the irrational exuberance of Obama’s economic and revenue projections, and it is no surprise that senior economist Bill Gale, at the liberal Brookings Institution, says that the deficit will exceed $10 trillion over the next decade, a figure he finds “deeply alarming”. So do voters, who now rate the deficit as the nation’s No 1 problem.

This year, the deficit will come to 11.2% of GDP, and by 2019 the debt will be equal to 76% of the value of the nation’s output of goods and services, almost double the 41% when Obama took control of the nation’s finances. Not a problem, White House economists tell me. Not sustainable, says Warren Buffett, among others.

[TigerLikesRooster]

They are stuck in a dollar and a hard place.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[screaminsunshine]

I tried to add up some of the spending numbers on my truwsty calculator. Well it will not work. Not enough room. I defy you to use a hand held electronic calculator to add and subtract multi trillions of dollars.

[GeronL]

Either way, it isn’t going to be pretty.

Whether we default or whether we hyper-inflate.

Its going to be very very bad.

[Uncle Ike]

” I defy you to use a hand held electronic calculator to add and subtract multi trillions of dollars “

I defy anybody to use the combined calculating power of all the supercomputers in the world and come up with any conclusion other than unmitigated disaster...

[tired&retired]

This is why Warren Buffit, one of the leading O’Bummer supporters is putting his $$ in foreign markets.

[tired&retired]

This is why Warren Buffit, one of the leading O’Bummer supporters is putting his $$ in foreign markets.

I think Buffet has an arson mentality..... get your belongings out, and then set the fire. He has a vested interest in this collapse.

[TigerLikesRooster]

The trick is add, round off some, and add more, then make up a magical revenue in some undated future, subtract huge amount, add more...

With rounding off numbers as frequently as possible using every flimsy excuse to discount the number(positive thinking,) and very creative imagining of future revenue possibilities, we are always barely escape the disaster.

Trust your power of creative imagination and positive thinking! /end of sarcasm. LOL.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Don't worry, the Gubbermint will just raise the price of the air they will sell American industry. The money they will rake in is unlimited. And then there will be the money made from raising taxes.

And don't forget all the revenue they will benefit from with Government Health Care. they will save so much money, it will actually pay off the debt all by itself. (ObaMao said so, and the Sheeple believe it.)

[Uncle Ike]

” Trust your power of creative imagination and positive thinking! “

If they’re *admitting* to the $9t, I’m wondering what the *real* number is...

Be afraid - be very, very afraid....

[taildragger]

My guess is they will try to go forward with the Rep. Miller (Dem CA) 401(k) to Gov't run super annuity and potentially as some blogger found last week (Congresswomen? let slip) the confiscating of healthy State Pensions. They will try to go the confiscatory route.....

That will go over like a loud fart in church....

[TigerLikesRooster]

Probably they stopped calculating, because they know the result would be horrifying. That means they don't know either. However, it is growing fast even at this moment.

I think they have to introduce log-based number from now on. Logarithm value with the base of at least 10.:-)

[bert]

.....I defy you to use a hand held electronic calculator to add and subtract multi trillions of dollars.....

It can be done by omitting the final three digits that are insignificant and thinking in trillions. Mine goes to a natural 10 billion and by omitting the last three as insignificant goes to 10 trillion. That should last out the year.

[screaminsunshine]

Improvise and overcome. I am waiting for the quadrillions. Coming soon in the Obamnomical economy.

[upchuck]

If Windows is your operating system, try the built in calculator. I don’t know the largest number it can handle, but trillions are no sweat.

And isn’t it a shame we even have to have this conversation?

[TigerLikesRooster]

Obama forced us to use double-precision floating numbers.:-)

[screaminsunshine]

I was using a hand held. Soon you will need a Crey. Obama is basing all his projections on 4% growth in the economy and increased loot to the government with the growth and higher taxes. I can not see it with his socialist economic policy.

[screaminsunshine]

I know. I have this feeling of impending economic doom. Even if we stopped them today it will be years to get back to normal. They are going for another bubble.

[Uncle Ike]

” They are going for another bubble. “

Months ago, another FReeper came up with the line (which I stole for a tagline for a while) “Government - the next bubble to burst.”

Remarkably prescient...

[TigerLikesRooster]

At first, people talked about a few years of economic hardship before eventual rebound. Then, the number they air out went up to a decade, a la "We will be having our own 'lost decade.'" Obama will make them float the number like 25.

The progression of rhetoric from 10 years to 25 is solely to Obama's credit.