Here we go.... (2011 US Budget)

[Pangloss]

I don't know if you all remember or not, but a year ago I said that what would be most revealing about this administration would be the fight over its first budget. Well that budget is coming out this week, and it's about to get interesting. IMO this will be a very graphic demonstration of just how far we've gone down the rabbit hole.

 

The Wall Street Journal has already weighed in, focusing on $1 trillion in tax increases and the growth of debt-as-a-percentage-of-GDP from 53% to a whopping 77%. (No, those really aren't the numbers for this sector of the galactic empire, but your local sector official in Rigel thanks you for your inquiry.)

 

BTW, here's a very cool interactive chart at the New York Times. It has some really neat features (developers are getting so good at Javascript these days).

 

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/02/01/us/budget.html

[john5746]

Yep, its really depressing. I think Obama will have a real fight to keep from becoming a one term President. Either way, I don't see any President making real cuts in Medicare or Defense, which is needed to realistically have a chance for a balance, IMO.

[jryan]

I have to point out the irony of the fact that after Obama claimed that Health care reform would be paid in part by savings in Medicare through uncovering fraud and abuse that the Fraud and Abuse division of Medicare is the only Medicare division seeing cuts.

Edited February 1, 2010 by jryan

[Mokele]

The 8.1% increase in NSF funding is damn nice, though. Still not what's needed (300%), but still better than anything Bush ever did.

[npts2020]

Talk about government control of the economy $3.7 trillion is about 1/4 of total expected GDP!!!

[CharonY]

NIH also got a smallish bump. Though much will go into cancer research (as usual).

[Mokele]

NIH also got a smallish bump. Though much will go into cancer research (as usual).

 

I need to find a way to link frog jumping to cancer.

[jackson33]

Everyone should remember, the Executive Budget, is primarily a request, Congress has the final say and it's unlikely this President would not sign off on any final budget, shutting down government. Even if he did refuse, Congress has the authority to by pass the executive with emergency funding. Bush II, never did sign the 2010 Budget, which started in Oct. 2009. If any areas, where States have influential Senators, say Texas/Florida, in the NASA or Science arena, those Senators actually have more power than the President.

 

 

Talk about government control of the economy $3.7 trillion is about 1/4 of total expected GDP!!![/Quote]

 

It's hard to predict Federal Spending in an Election year, but I wouldn't be surprised if during the fiscal year 2011, starting in Oct. 2010 (elections November 2010), that spending actually tops 4T$ and income, being based on tax collections from the year 2009, are less than expected, then the 2011 deficit actually hits 2T$, already projected to be 1.6T$.

 

 

For any person under 60, especially those under 30 are going to be effected the most. There are not many positive ways to solve the problems, other than increased GDP over the deficit percentage, making negative results of massive tax increases or devaluating the dollar (most likely plan), the likely solution. Higher taxes, in turn pull wealth from the economic engine and devaluating the dollars is simply hyper inflation. My opinions....

[bascule]

Yep, its really depressing. I think Obama will have a real fight to keep from becoming a one term President.

 

Which is sad, considering the losses in tax revenue can be largely attributed to the previous two-term president...

 

and Republicans oppose efforts to curb the deficit

 

And social programs are being strained by the weak economy.

 

Now's exactly the sort of conditions where we'd anticipate deficit spending... too bad we've been running in the red for the past 10 years.

Edited February 2, 2010 by bascule

[Pangloss]

In my opinion those surpluses would have been spent by a Democrat in simply a different manner, and in some cases exactly the SAME manner (e.g. War on Terror following 9/11). Certainly we wouldn't be in Iraq, but we would be in exactly the same situation in Afghanistan as we are now. Subtract a few hundred billion from Iraq, and add it in to health care, and it's a wash.

[CharonY]

I need to find a way to link frog jumping to cancer.

 

There is an initiative for physicist to combat cancer, headed by a cosmologist. I am pretty sure frogs fit in. Just do not mention that you are a biologist.