Posted on 06/24/2024 8:01:52 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Just when you think things couldn’t get worse on the fiscal front, Washington once again manages to exceed expectations. One couldn’t help but get that impression from the latest update to the nation’s (poor) budget situation.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released revised estimates of the nation’s budget and economic outlook over the coming years. While the prior version of the document, released in February, didn’t exactly show a fiscally responsible federal government, the intervening four months saw lawmakers digging taxpayers — that’s you and me — into an even deeper hole.
Overall, CBO increased the estimated budget deficit for the current fiscal year (which ends on Sept. 30) by $408 billion and the 10-year budget deficit by nearly $2.1 trillion. A breakdown in the report shows the major causes of the worsened financial conditions.
The (bloated) spending bills passed in March added nearly $1.3 trillion to the 10-year deficit, as higher spending this fiscal year leads CBO to assume (not incorrectly, in most cases) that spending will continue at those higher levels in the future.
Spending on Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies will increase deficits by $511 billion in the coming decade, in large part because more people will continue signing up for “free” coverage. The budget office also noted that “the recent surge in immigration [has] made more people than CBO previously estimated eligible for” Obamacare subsidies, accounting for an increase in projected enrollment.
The Biden administration’s student “loan forgiveness” will cause the deficit to grow by $145 billion this fiscal year alone, and because the administration has not finalized several of its regulatory proposals, CBO has yet to put the full fiscal effect of these giveaways onto the federal government’s books.
(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalist.com ...
Don’t forget Interest on the National Debt
Get rid of the illegals and watch how much money you suddenly have available in the budget.
I’m sorry, I hate Obamacare, but this is bogus.
$500B over 10 years is just $50B a year. That’s just a moderate-sized check to Zelensky. Right now, defense spending is almost a trillion a year—and interest payments on the debt is larger than the defense bill.
As to SS, how much was paid it—and could it reasonably have otherwise been expected to increase if it had remained in private hands?
Implement President Trump’s tariffs and watch how much extra money you have in the budget.
“Interest on the National Debt”
That is the camel’s nose under the tent—that will eventually collapse the tent.
“Nobody saw it coming.”
Lol.
Stop paying for Ukraine too.
We tried to tell people.
I mean, it’s not like it was predictable...
Oh wait...
Get rid of the Dept. Of Education like President Trump wants to do and watch how much extra money you have in the budget.
Stop the endless, needless wars and watch how all of the sudden you have extra money in the budget.
The rate of fraud in all three programs could probably pay of the debt....................
Tell us something they didn’t foretell fifty years ago.
Bukllsh!t on Social Security blowing up the budget. That is CRAP!
Medicare and Medicaid? Yep, those are blowing up the budget.
From Market Ticker:
Again, let me reference this Ticker, just one of dozens I’ve written over the years, that points out the truth: There is no crisis in Social Security. There is a problem which can be addressed, but the problem was caused directly by tampering with interest rates within The Fed and Congress along with allowing millions of able-bodied people to claim “disability” — and some of them have been documented to have run marathons while allegedly “disabled.”
Nonetheless Social Security is fixable without a large amount of pain. Why? Because it is a progressive tax-based system (you get more back in benefit for the first dollar you pay in via taxes than later ones), it holds a relatively large body of bonds which by design were constructed to allow “pig-in-python” style bursts of baby creation (ala The Boomers) as the designers anticipated that happening (along with “busts” at other times) and the tax rate is, in relative terms, high. (12.4% of all wages earned up to the cap — you only “see” half of it as a payroll deduction — unless you’re self-employed!) Further the boomer pig in the python will start to recede in ten years — 2028 — as boomers start dying and so will their outsized proportion of the “draw” on said system.
In other words the conflation of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is an intentional lie that is repeated for political purposes and any politician or other policy “wonk” who does so deserves to be destroyed as his or her intent is to wreck this nation on a permanent fiscal basis by generating enough screaming among seniors to guarantee the actual problem is not addressed.
The entire problem with our budget lies in Medicare and Medicaid. The reason is multi-fold but is focused in the following places:
(see link for the scary facts”)
https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?singlepost=3460351
“This time is different.” lol
If you divide that debt by the number of working adults in this country, it comes to something like $240,000 per person. For a married couple, that’s like having a mortgage of nearly $500,000 — and no home to show for it.
THIS is why the U.S. government is flooding the country with immigrants — both legal and illegal. We need to import several hundred million people who are dumb enough to think this is a good deal.
Maybe a lot of extra money for the politicians to spend. But Americans will see inflation like they never have before.
[[Get rid of the illegals and watch how much money you suddenly have available in the budget.]]
A couple of decades ago- a study was done in which they counted everything, both direct costs and incidental costs, and it was estimated back then that illegals were costing this country between $400 and $600 billion every year-
That number is likely over $1 Trillion dollars per year now
When discussing the deficit, SS, Medicare and Medicaid should not be lumped together. Though there are problems with SS and Medicare, the recipients of those benefits did make substantial contributions to the programs. How much did Medicaid recipients contribute to that program?
The budget cost of each should be shown and discussed separately.
The three pieces of the Federal Budget taking the most money are Healthcare Spending $2.5 Trillion, Defense $1.3 Trillion and Interest on the Debt $1.2 Trillion.
The worst is healthcare, we takin in roughly $400 Billion in Medicare Taxes and borrow the rest and it is 20% of GDP.
Social Security is fully funded except for about 15%, it isn’t the problem.
Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies
___________________
I have noticed, that since Obamacare has been implemented, the quality of healthcare in the US went to toilet.
It now takes months or even years to get appointment, while before, I have never waited more than couple of days!
As the amount of “free” healthcare (Medicaid) increases, the lines are getting longer! Just like in Europe and other socialized medicine countries.
It is easy consequence of free healthcare.
If it is free, I can use it as much as I want. Go to doctor with every scratch in my throat. And yes, it is actually cheaper. You get free visit and free prescription drug.
If you buy OTC drug without prescription, it cost money!
Actually, in many socialized medicine countries, they implemented at least minimal copayment, just to reduce this massive demand.
But, since Obamacare is still kind of new, US is still learning, what the others have learned long time ago!
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