Tag Archives: Deficit

Pushing Past the Breaking Point, by MN Gordon

Something’s got to give in the US and global economy. From MN Gordon at economicprism.com:

Mankind’s willful determinations to resist the natural order are in vain.  Still, he pushes onward, always grasping for the big breakthrough.  The allure of something for nothing is too enticing to pass up.

Systems of elaborate folly have been erected with the most impossible of promises.  That prosperity can be attained without labor.  That benefits can be paid without taxes.  That cheap credit can make everyone rich.

Central to these promises are the central government and central planning authorities.  They take your money and, in return, they make you a dependent.  They promise you a secure retirement, and free drugs, while running a scheme that’s well beyond anything Charles Ponzi ever dreamed of.

According to the government’s statistics, the economy has never been better.  By the official numbers, we’re living in a magical world of full employment, 2.3 percent price inflation, and the second-longest growth period in the post-World War II era.  Agreeable reports like these are broadcast each month without question.

Still, we have some reservations.  How come, with the nirvana of full employment, 62 percent of all U.S. jobs don’t pay enough to support a middle class life?  An economy with full employment should be an employee’s market; one where employees can name their price.

Surely, workers would select a middle class life if they could.  But they can’t…because full employment’s a sham.

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US Budget Deficit Hits $530 Billion In 8 Months, As Spending On Interest Explodes, by Tyler Durden

Here’s the deteriorating US budget situation in pictures. From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com:

The US is starting to admit that it has a spending problem.

According to the latest Monthly Treasury Statement, in May, the US collected $217BN in receipts – consisting of $93BN in individual income tax, $103BN in social security and payroll tax, $3BN in corporate tax and $18BN in other taxes and duties- a drop of 9.7% from the $240.4BN collected last March and a clear reversal from the recent increasing trend…

… even as Federal spending surged, rising 10.7% from $328.8BN last March to $363.9BN last month.

… where the money was spent on social security ($83BN), defense ($56BN), Medicare ($53BN), Interest on Debt ($32BN), and Other ($141BN).

The surge in spending led to a May budget deficit of $146.8 billion, above the consensus estimate of $144BN, a swing from a surplus of $214.3 billion in April and far larger than the deficit of $88.4 billion recorded in May of 2017. This was the biggest March budget deficit since the financial crisis.

To continue reading: US Budget Deficit Hits $530 Billion In 8 Months, As Spending On Interest Explodes