January 13, 2007

Deficit

AP

    The federal deficit has improved significantly in the first three months of the new budget year, helped by a continued surge in tax revenues.

Whoa... despite tax cuts for the rich?
    Tax collections are running 8.2 percent higher than a year ago while government spending is up by just 0.7 percent from a year ago. Last year's spending totals were boosted by significant payments to help the victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

    The Treasury said for December, the government actually ran a surplus of $44.5 billion, the largest surplus ever recorded in December and a gain that reflected a big jump in quarterly corporate tax payments.

    The $80.4 billion deficit for the first three months of the current budget year was down 32.6 percent from the imbalance for the same period a year ago of $119.4 billion.

    For the year, analysts are still forecasting that the deficit will worsen from last year's total of $248.2 billion, which had been the lowest in four years.


The President has been in office for 6 years... so that's not yet a record to be proud of, but there's still two to go.

Government Posted by AlexC at January 13, 2007 12:08 PM

Quick, cut taxes some more!

I think your closing sentiment on the Bush administration is more appropriate for his half-hearted war on Islamists than domestic budget policy. He's got a scant two years to derail Iran's nuke program, get over top-dead-center in Iraq, and restore America's confidence in muscular foreign policy. I'm afraid that's too much to expect, even from Gen. Petraeus.

Posted by: johngalt at January 13, 2007 3:54 PM

No doubt President Gore would have kept spending to a minimum and kept the Federal budget in surplus.

And no doubt President Kerry would have forcefully routed the Islamist menace from Pakistan to Indonesia, kickin' ass and takin' names (Mohammed, Mohammed, Mohammed...)

My blog brothers have been sucked into the miasma generated by the anti-Bush forces. The fact is, this President cut taxes and energized the economy, when many in his own party wanted to raise them. Then he resolutely prosecuted the war on terror, against world opinion, Washington CW, and squeamish squishy members of his own party.

Had he slavishly avoided budget deficits to please ac, he would not have cut taxes. Sorry if his war performance is not perfect, jg, but compared to the life-losing mistakes in WWII, Korea and the Civil War, he is a hall of famer.

The raise taxes and cut and run brigades will both be seeking to pull him down, partly by de-energizing his base. You guys want to play?

Posted by: jk at January 15, 2007 11:50 AM

I'm not attempting to pull him down, but buck him up. Perhaps I should be more cautious of appearing otherwise.

I'm fully in support of the Bush Doctrine, I just wish the President was as well. I agree that he STARTED to "resolutely prosecute the war on terror" but for many reasons, allowed the effort to become irresolute.

Example #1: A key element promised in the new Surge effort is to remove political restrictions on allied forces. When we were asked to back down in Fallujah we should have politely refused. (There are countless other examples that don't come so readily to mind.) We then explain that "this is a war, and wars do not end until enemy forces surrender or are destroyed. Your choice."

Posted by: johngalt at January 15, 2007 3:39 PM | What do you think? [3]