Tax revenue surging - deficit falling

[SamOdom]

July 11 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush's administration will report this week that surging tax revenue is shrinking this year's budget deficit from the record 2004 level, possibly by as much as $90 billion, giving him a shot at fulfilling his deficit reduction promise three years early.

 

[SamOdom]

Keynesianism takes another hit.

 

[WildBill]

If only you believe not cutting taxes means you increased taxes. Imagine if the rate was just 1% higher across the board, the deficit would be even lower! I personally do not buy into the idea that people make drastic economic changes in their lives over 1% marginal tax rate increases.

 

[SamOdom]

Imagine if the rate was just 1% higher across the board, the deficit would be even lower!

Boy has that been debated ad infinitum. I think there is a narrow window where taxes allow the economy to purr along. Too many taxes chills the economy, too few heats it up. Don't ask me where that narrow window lies.

 

[edub69]

Not to turn this into an anti-Bush thread, but reducing this year's deficit by $90 billion still leaves us with a sizable deficit for the year, just as we had last year and are projected to have next year. In order to reduce the net federal budget deficit you have to have years where there is a surplus, something that doesn't seem remotely possible. Not to mention, I believe all of these budget calculations and projections do not include any of the money we are spending in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or do I misunderstand, and Bush's pledge was actually to reduce the yearly deficits, all the while still adding to the net federal deficit?

Beating your own dismal projections is nothing to cheer about. It's like if I'm having a bad day in bases, and I tell my wife, we are going to lose like $2000 today, and then a couple of late games come in for me and I can proudly report that we only lose $1200.

Sam, I need to learn about Keynesianism. What is its central tenet, and how does this news deliver a blow to that particular ideology?

 

[SamOdom]

Not to turn this into an anti-Bush thread, but reducing this year's deficit by $90 billion still leaves us with a sizable deficit for the year, just as we had last year and are projected to have next year.

Yeah, like the 600 lb guy who never leaves his house but loses 200 lbs on some diet, he still weighs 400 lbs:monsters-

 

[SamOdom]

Sam, I need to learn about Keynesianism. What is its central tenet, and how does this news deliver a blow to that particular ideology?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesianism

 

[edub69]

Interesting. It's too late for me to finish reading all of that and its associated links that might make it more clear to me. But from the first half of it, I would argue that Bush's policies are not totally anti-Keynesian as they incorporate deficit spending, or rather, revenue reduction that increases the deficit coupled with war spending that increases the deficit further. While Keynes's deficit spending is cut from a much different cloth, the effects should be similar. Bush's policies seem to be much less complex on the taxation side though - just give people as much money back as possible, and hope they spend it, especially the wealthiest people. Trickle down economics, no? I know that the extra $9 a week I got after Bush's first tax cut didn't make me feel in any way that I had more disposable income. Thanks for the link.

p.s. the Republicans who follow the link will get about 1/3 of the way through and stop reading once Paul Krugman is used as a reference

 

[WildBill]

Yeah right, the endless pork projects and "guns" part of the guns and butter arguments that the current lawmakers and President are spending aren't Keynesian. Bush and his boys of the GOP are fiscal conservatives only in their own imaginations. These guys talk a real great game, but where is the production? We get these silly "I won't sign anything for a dollar over $280 billion" threats, like they really are making a dent here. I won't argue deficit projections being lowered isn't a good thing, but for King George's people to act like they accomplished something major here is an utter joke. Talk the talk, but don't walk the walk seems to the be the motto.

 

[Dawoofdaddy]

Thanks Bill. Yes, this GOP bunch in the White House is far from fiscally conservative. Many true Republicans in Congress are frustrated, but the massive spending continues.

 

[docmercer--banned]

Same pack that lied on stats regarding a decrease in Terrorists hits last year????

I dont believe ANYTHING this administration says

 

[D2bets]

Ahhhhhh, the soft bigotry of low expectations.

 

[TheRightWing]

Positive news but gets slammed down by the liberals again,again, still amazing how good news or progress gives the liberals that empty feeling.

 

[D2bets]

It's better news than it could be but if I project my family to be $41,000 in the hole this year and then I determine that we're "only" going to be $33,000 in the hole, I'm hardly going to throw a party over my fiscal well-being.

Like I said, the soft bigtry of low expectations. This is the Bush Admin's idea of affirmative action.