COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Saturday, August 22, 2009

White House Adds $2 Trillion to Deficit Forecasts and Obama goes to Martha's Vineyard


Ron Paul earlier this year.

How could anyone believe anything Obama says about any new spending program?

In the last three days Obama’s budget office announced the government’s deficit for 2009 will total $1.58 trillion, about $262 billion less than forecast in May. They said it is reduced because we will not be spending additional stimulus money.

Obama assures us that a comprehensive overhaul of the health care system will reduce costs. Sure. Got that.

Now we learn that there has been a slight miscalculation of $2 trillion in deficit projections. With that leaked President Obama took Air Force One to Martha's Vineyard for his first-ever presidential vacation, which the White House called "well earned."

____________________

White House Adds $2 Trillion to Deficit Forecasts

By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 22, 2009

The nation would be forced to borrow more than $9 trillion over the next decade under President Obama's policies, the White House acknowledged late Friday, bringing their long-term budget forecast in line with independent estimates.

The new projections add approximately $2 trillion to budget deficits through 2019. Earlier this year, the administration had predicted that Obama's policies would require the government to spend $7.108 trillion more than it collects in tax revenue over the next decade.

An administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the report will not be formally released until Tuesday, said the change is due primarily to updated projections of economic growth that are far less rosy than data used when the White House released its first long-term budget outlook in February. At that time, the White House predicted the economy would shrink by 1.2 percent this year; in fact, the economy shrank at an annualized rate of 6.4 percent in the first quarter, the sharpest drop since 1980.

Critics called the administration overly optimistic, charging that Obama's figures masked the depth of the nation's fiscal crisis and falsely suggested that his policies would stabilize the nation's growing debt to China and other foreign creditors.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has predicted that Obama's policies would force the nation to borrow $9.1 trillion between 2010 and 2019. Like the White House, the CBO is scheduled to release an updated forecast on Tuesday.




38 comments:

  1. Most jobs, you have to have a year in, before it's vacation time.

    But then again, the President is always "on the job".

    Even at Martha's Vineyard.

    Wonder if he'll take the trip over "The Bridge at Chappaquiddick"?

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  2. Does anyone think we will have armies of hysterical adoring white youths desperate for hope and change come the next presidential election?

    Not I.

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  3. How about white union workers in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania? Retirees in Florida or the swing jewish vote in some key electoral districts? Will they be as wild for Obama?

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  4. The last election was as much a rejection of Bush and the Republicans as an endorsement for what Obama was hustling.

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  5. You're still running against Obama, not "for" anything in particular.

    Allowing Obamamerica to set the agenda. Hoping for implosion is not the wisest course, though perhaps the most practicle.

    It's a long way to 2012.

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  6. Gee, DR "negating" another's POV.
    What a surprise.
    Like a broken record playing for the 10 Millionth time.
    Yawn.

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  7. You've been wrong about this country's expected response to Obamacare since day 1, DR, not that I expect you to fess up to it.

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  8. "Gee, DR "negating" another's POV."

    i thought rattie was educating everyone here at this site, pitching you all softballs

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  9. the mother of all WTF moments is coming...

    Obama's mutual respect with islam is going well... I see that Moslems are now protesting beheadings and truck bombings, ied's and suicide bombers all over the globe... NOT...

    I see how the democrats, in response to Bush's 700 million dollar drunken spending spree have reduced governmental spending, tightened the belt and bulked down to a return to more austere living... NOT

    I see those who control BOTH houses and the executive branch being gracious winners and now that they control it all take self responsiblity... NOT

    what i do see?

    islam murdering it's way across the globe and us appeasing it to such an extent that would war m hearts of Saladin......

    I see the democrats still blaming the GOP for being a party of NO when the GOP's no means NOTHING

    I see obama burning thru america's cash faster than pre ww2 germany... and at the same time destroying any america strength overseas...

    shit's happening...

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. SOS, been through it with Jimmah.

    The White House was "getting out in front" of the CBO. Just keep one thing in mind. The CBO "predicts" the "Present." That's all they're, really, allowed to do.

    We're not going to run a $9 Trillion Deficit this decade (although, it could be $4 Trillion, which would still be a hell of a number.)

    Put that in the context of a $20 Trillion GDP in ten years, and you're not that far from where we are, now (about 5% of GDP.) It ain't great, but it's not a "killer."

    Don't "Ever" believe "Partisans," or the CBO when they start talking about deficits.

    Oh, Obamacare won't pass (but needed reforms like guaranteed "insurability," and "portability," eventually, will. The, absolutely, vital "mandates," I don't know.)

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  12. I have said numerous times, doug, that something will pass, with regards to Health Care and Insurance Reform.

    I still think that.

    I have said that it looked like there would be Federal co-operatives, standing in the stead of the public option. I stand by that prognastication.

    I said that Obama would sign the legislation, claiming to be unhappy with it. Calling for further reform even as he signs it.

    I still think that will happen.

    I still think that there are early signs of trends visible in all of those outcomes, regarding Health Care.

    Or the Democrats totally implode.
    Which I do not see as a probable scenario.

    During the campaign, elijah, they wee softballs. No one laid a glove on Obama. There were opportunities, but the GOP did not attack Chicago, the System that spawned Obama and Emanual, Blogdonovich and Roland W. Burris.

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  13. Focused upon religion and not politics, the anti-Obama crowd did.
    Most of the electorate tuned out.
    Religion is or was not a primary concern, amongst a majority of the electorate.

    Then too, there would have been many amongst the sectarians that were and still are attracted to Obama's brand of secular religion.

    Lutherans lift barrier for gay clergy.

    The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the second major Christian group in a month to liberalize policies on the ministry
    .
    By Duke Helfand.

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  14. Obama was the first "Real" Black Candidate. He was given a "Pass" of Biblical proportions.

    It won't happen, again.

    Yeah, everyone (including me) was mad at the Republicans. Really, really, really, fucking, pissed off, mad. The Dems were responsible, in the main, for the fannie mae, freddie mac shit that damned near put us in an honest to God Depression, but the asshole Pubs were Complicit.

    They were pushing the "Ownership Society" just as hard as the Dems were. We knew we had to bail out the banks, but no one, sure as hell, me, liked it. It pissed me off to hell and back.

    Add in, totally, fucking up Iraq, and I guess we would have elected the town dogcatcher President, as long as he was a Democrat. I'm a totally partisan Republican, and the only reason in hell I voted for McCain was I knew he couldn't win. If I'd have thought he had a chance I swear I'd have gone and got drunk that Wednesday.

    I did that night, anyway.

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  15. If anyone took the time to check the Obama.com datas sets, they'd see an event driven graph, with a reasonably steady baseline, since the inaguration.

    Obama Everywhere ranks in as the 7,652 most popular website. Drudge is ranked at 676.

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  16. That if the GOP puts up Ms Palin, she'll be wiped out in a tsunami of Obama/Clinton emotional appeal.

    Same could be said of Mr Taxachusetts, Mitt Romney.

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  17. Times Online - ‎15 minutes ago‎
    Lord Mandelson has stated any suggestion of a trade deal over the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi is 'offensive'
    .

    Those Gadaffi's, an offensive lot.

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  18. Mrs Palin could do a bit better than this, I'd expect.

    Maybe a little better than Goldwater, there's chance she she could carry Alaska.

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  19. One has to wonder, will we ever see this lopsided a victory, again?

    The benefits of which were pissed away over at the Watergate Hotel, then flushed by a disgruntled Associate Director of the FBI.

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  20. "The questions concerning "End of Life", doug, ars not inappropriate, to anyone, anywhere.

    Are you an asset or a liability, to your family, clan, tribe or country?

    To claim the question is inappropriate, another sign of "Decandence". Some questions are just to painful to ask, let alone honestly answer.

    Better they just be avoided?
    "
    ---
    Best be answered by Dear Leader
    and his cohort of
    Corrupt Zombie Deathcult Technofascists.

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  21. While dispite overwhelming electoral vixtories, neither LBJ's nor Nixon's Presidencies ended well.

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  22. They or the Mega Death Panel, at the Mega Life and Health Insurance Company?

    What makes it perferable that those decisions are delegated into the hands of corporate beancounters and scandalous schemers?

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  23. That such an extreme shift in the electoral results, if judged by Party affiliation, in just four years. Not a sign of any ideological political center, represented exclusively by either Party, in the 1960's.


    The end game in Vietnam, the crux of the campaign, as I recall it, playing out as poorly with Nixons' election as it could have with McGovern. Perhaps even worse, as we stayed the course longer, with Nixon than we'd have with McGovern,

    Both Nixon and McGovern were WWII veterans. McGovern seeing some combat over Europe, Mr Nixon playing poker in the Pacific theater of operations.

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  24. Would have been eight years, from LBJ's beating Goldwater, to Nixon smashing McGovern.

    This graphic representation United States presidential election, 1968.

    Represents another era, when there was a secret "Plan" for peace with honor, that emerged from the fray come election day.

    Hope for change, carried the day.

    Then and now.
    Perhaps always.

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  25. Most jobs, you have to have a year in, before it's vacation time.

    He's never had a job. How would he know?

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  26. Murray: "It's all Rat, all the time"...

    53.33%

    You're slipping in the poll.

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  27. Desert Rat,

    Why not get your own blog? Most of what you post is boring and you drown out more interesting bloggers.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Fort Benning said...
    Desert Rat,

    Why not get your own blog? Most of what you post is boring and you drown out more interesting bloggers.




    LOL.... well said.....

    thanks for the chuckle....

    ReplyDelete
  29. How do you "Drown Out" other bloggers?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Rat puts up all kinds of interesting information. Some of the rest of you - Not so much.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Yes. Rat is like our own private drudge report.

    And then, for energy, finance, and automotive news...

    ...there's rufus!

    Like a fine margarita, best with a few grains of salt.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Like, with all other gurus, you might want to buy that salt by the block.

    ReplyDelete