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big shocker huh?



Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf, on the heels of a report pegging the 2011 budget deficit at a record $1.5 trillion, testified before the Senate Budget Committee on the risks of inaction. He said cumulative deficits over the next 10 years could run anywhere from $7 trillion to $12 trillion.

As is customary in congressional hearings about the nation's fiscal problems, Elmendorf rattled off a string of staggering numbers in his forecast of future budget shortfalls. He said that if nothing changes in the law, the federal deficit will add up to $7 trillion over the next decade, pushing the debt up to 77 percent of GDP.

The hearing comes after the Congressional Budget Office released a report that shows the nation's red ink running even deeper than previously thought.

The analysis showed the deficit hitting a record $1.5 trillion this year.

President Obama touched on the need for deficit reduction in his State of the Union speech Tuesday. He called for a five-year freeze on non-mandatory domestic spending, a proposal he estimated would save $400 billion over the next decade. He called for action on reforming entitlements like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, without offering specifics.

But the $400 billion in proposed savings adds up to less than one-third of this year's projected deficit, and Republican congressional leaders roundly called on the administration to do more to address the nation's debt and deficit.



i've come to the realization that nothing is going to change, until it's too late, and a true collapse occurs. most of our politicians simply lack the backbone to imperil their own political careers, by making the unpopular deep cuts that must take place in order to halt the trend of trillion dollar annual deficits.

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The International Monetary Fund urged Washington Thursday to reduce its budget deficit.
clearpxl

The multilateral agency pointed out unless the United States government acts quickly to control government deficits, it could face slower growth and more difficult policy choices in the future.

The warning came a day after the U.S. Congressional Budget Office released its mid-year assessment in which the watchdog forecast a $1.5 trillion budget gap for the current year.

IMF Fiscal Affairs Director Carlo Cottarelli stressed that while the U.S. has a lot of credibility, it could not last forever. Cottarelli chided U.S. leaders for reneging on its promise made to other leading economies to reduce by half its budget deficit by 2013.

In response to the IMF report, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the ballooning budget deficit was the result of many years of spending by different administrations, and the solution must come from joint efforts of Democrats and Republicans.

While President Barack Obama had called for a freeze on discretionary spending at the State of the Union address this week, the IMF said Washington needs to make more spending cuts on pension and health entitlement programs.

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What I don't understand.....and probably cause it's government....as to why they don't "hire" a company to decide WHAT to cut..and where.  I still remember working for a bank that was going through a reorganization.  Ironically, or not, they hired another bank's team to come in and look at the work output and then recommend where they could cut and save money.  Although people didn't like it...there were a lot of cuts that really made sense...and I'm sure saved the bank money.  How come an outside company can't look at the government and its spending policies...and make recommendations as to what could be eliminated and/or cut.

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Originally Posted by Mary Kirkpatrick:
What I don't understand.....and probably cause it's government....as to why they don't "hire" a company to decide WHAT to cut..and where.  I still remember working for a bank that was going through a reorganization.  Ironically, or not, they hired another bank's team to come in and look at the work output and then recommend where they could cut and save money.  Although people didn't like it...there were a lot of cuts that really made sense...and I'm sure saved the bank money.  How come an outside company can't look at the government and its spending policies...and make recommendations as to what could be eliminated and/or cut.

well, that's kind of the same function that obama's deficit commission was meant to fulfill, but that was a complete flop.

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I hold out hope that our democratic process will prevail.  And that if we vote conservatives (even blue dog Dems) into office...get rid of the progressive...we can right the ship.

Progressivism and Keynesian economics has failed.

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
I hold out hope that our democratic process will prevail.  And that if we vote conservatives (even blue dog Dems) into office...get rid of the progressive...we can right the ship.

Progressivism and Keynesian economics has failed.

Spot on.  Papering over cracks and spending money that's been borrowed is quite pathetic.  Any business will borrow if there's a likelihood of a return to investment but this is not the way of it these days.  Most of the borrowed cash is used to fund 'schemes' that merely add pent up pain not pent up gain.  Progressives don't care.  I see Obama still outlined fresh spending initiatives the other day.  Even the last post on here talked about 'hiring' someone to work out where to cut.  How about almost everywhere.