Comments on: Yearly Budget Deficit Tops $2 Trillion

By: Greg

Greg — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:24:57 +0000

So, you are not partisan, in the usual sense of the term; I apologize for the accusation of ruse. And I should like to add that the numbers displayed by the “Daily History of the Debt Results” is misleading as an indicator of the deficit, though I can’t tell by how much. I see that the deficit is the amount of money actually spent above that budgeted, and though, ultimately, that amount must be financed through borrowing or revenue collection, since there is a dynamic process of revenue collection and refinancing of matured treasury paper,the actual sum of Treasury borrowings fluctuates over short time spans. I can’t find a believable accounting of actual budget shortfalls over time–since the Bush administration seems to have taken the odd track of not including the real expenditures in Iraq and Afghanistan in the budget deficit numbers. But, if the change in the Daily History can be taken literally within a modest range of error, the difference between September 30, 2007 and September 30, 2008 is $1.155 trillion; so that is actually the first time the budget deficit was over $1 trillion.
That said, yes, the jump is astounding and worrisome. But, though every element of the budget and excess expenditures is fair game for argument, I feel that the monies spent in shoring up the financial sector were necessary, and that not spending that money would have resulted in a far greater disaster spreading through the global economies.

By: geldpress

geldpress — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:36:42 +0000

Thanks for the comments, Greg. One thing I would like to add is that I am neither democrat or republican. I am equally critical of both parties for wasteful spending, and fiscal recklessness.

By: Greg

Greg — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:11:41 +0000

I visited the Treasury site from where Geldpress took its figures. They are as stated, and Geldpres’ is not untrue, as stated. However, I would like to point out that of the $2.021 trillion added to the debt from 7/10/08 to 7/10/09, 50% of that, $1.021 trillion, was accumulated in the first 105 days of the period: by 10/23/08 over $1 trillion was added. By 1/20/09 the figure is $1.124 trillion added–55.6% of the states $2 trillion. I would also like to point out that George W. Bush was president during this period. To that I would like to point out that analysis of the type presented by Geldpress represents either a boneheaded ignorance of ststistical analysis (demanding for correction at least one course in elemental statistical analysis) or a deliberate ruse of a type commonly known as misrepresentation, a hallmark of the GW Bush Administration (an incurable personal failure exibited by all congenital liars).