Obama re-elected to grow our national pie, not just re-divide it

[SK in CV]

[quote=The-Shoveler]
So you really think we will ever be able to pay the national debt without say 7-8% inflation?[/quote]

Pay off the debt or maintain and service it? A little tweaking of both sides of the budget and 3 or 4% GDP growth would provide enough to balance the budget. A few years of 5% growth and a little more tweaking, particularly on the revenue side, could put a dent in the debt.

[SD Realtor]

The debt?

Let’s try getting the senate to pass a budget for first.

Then maybe just maybe you can start talking about a year without a trillion dollar deficit.

[SD Realtor]

Yes SK we have heard the little tweaking and drops argument you have proposed before.

Seems like the government has been embracing that.

[SK in CV]

[quote=SD Realtor]Yes SK we have heard the little tweaking and drops argument you have proposed before.

Seems like the government has been embracing that.[/quote]

Much more important than those little tweakings and drops is the economy as a whole. Two percent annual growth won’t do it. I think Europe has provided pretty good evidence that austerity isn’t a solution. We haven’t really embraced a solution here either, we’ve just less wholeheartedly embraced the same failed path as Europe.

[Coronita]

Drill, baby, drill??? 🙂

[SD Realtor]

Of course it is the economy.

Thus the senate is then justified in not passing a budget since 2009, and the govt in general is continuing to spend a trillion more then it takes in because it will all take care of itself when the economy heals.

In the meantime it is okay to spend more and tax more.

Because that is (speculation about the economy aside) exactly what we are doing.

[SK in CV]

[quote=SD Realtor]Of course it is the economy.

Thus the senate is then justified in not passing a budget since 2009, and the govt in general is continuing to spend a trillion more then it takes in because it will all take care of itself when the economy heals.

In the meantime it is okay to spend more and tax more.

Because that is (speculation about the economy aside) exactly what we are doing.[/quote]

Except we haven’t taxed more. And we haven’t spent much more. Taxes have gone down for almost everyone over the last 4 years. And spending is growing at the smallest rate in decades, and most of that increase has been purely a function of the economy and demographics.

[scaredyclassic]

You need dough to bake a pie.

[SD Realtor]

Well SK you paint a portrait that indeed everything is okay and perfectly acceptable. I guess we simply agree to disagree.

[enron_by_the_sea]

I can also view this as – The house should pass a budget that is acceptable to the senate and the president.

Why should 1/3rd of the govt. (or more likely 1/3*1/2 =1/6th) behave like it is 3/3 of the govt.?

[SK in CV]

[quote=SD Realtor]Well SK you paint a portrait that indeed everything is okay and perfectly acceptable. I guess we simply agree to disagree.[/quote]

No, I haven’t said that at all. The economy is still limping along. More than 12 million people who want jobs don’t have them. I don’t think there’s any part of that which is acceptable.

[SD Realtor]

I can also view it as the senate has not passed any budget since 2009. The house may have passed a budget that is unacceptable to the president and senate but it did pass a budget.

[an]

The other 2/3 have no room to complain about the bad budget from the other 1/3 if they haven’t passed one of their own. That’s the whole point of negotiation right? Put your budget on the table and see where they can come together?

[livinincali]

[quote=SK in CV]
Except we haven’t taxed more. And we haven’t spent much more. Taxes have gone down for almost everyone over the last 4 years. And spending is growing at the smallest rate in decades, and most of that increase has been purely a function of the economy and demographics.[/quote]

A little perspective seems to be in order. Pick your time frame carefully to make your point.

Notice how revenues have stagnated over the past 10 years yet spending has increased. Revenues are based on number of people working, their nominal wage gains and the tax rate. Everybody agrees that wages have stagnated. Look at a chart of number of people working and that hasn’t gone up much, and the tax rate has basically remained the same or gone down.

[SK in CV]

[quote=livinincali][quote=SK in CV]
Except we haven’t taxed more. And we haven’t spent much more. Taxes have gone down for almost everyone over the last 4 years. And spending is growing at the smallest rate in decades, and most of that increase has been purely a function of the economy and demographics.[/quote]

Notice how revenues have stagnated over the past 10 years yet spending has increased. Revenues are based on number of people working, their nominal wage gains and the tax rate. Everybody agrees that wages have stagnated. Look at a chart of number of people working and that hasn’t gone up much, and the tax rate has basically remained the same or gone down.[/quote]

If you go back another couple years, revenue decreased over the last 12 years. If revenue had simply kept up with inflation since 2000, the current budget would be balanced. Revenues are not solely based on the number of people working. It’s also based on the effective tax rates on all income.

Again, much of the increase in entitlement spending is purely demographics, and more recently, a function of the economy, not statutory increases in entitelments. Almost 1/3 of the increase in entitelment costs are SS old age benefits, yet SS as a whole still does not materially contribute to the deficit. And net OASI taxes collected (including SE tax) increased by more than 1/3. (SS benefits paid are roughly equal to additions to the SS trust fund.)

[Author]

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