Do the Math

Why is it more Americans aren’t up in arms about our Nations budget deficit?

def•i•cit [def-uh-sit; Brit. also dih-fis-it]
–noun
1. the amount by which a sum of money falls short of the required amount.
2. the amount by which expenditures or liabilities exceed income or assets.
3. a lack or shortage; deficiency.
4. a disadvantage, impairment, or handicap: The team’s major deficit is its poor pitching.
5. a loss, as in the operation of a business.

This nation is facing the worst economic crises since the great depression. Compounding the problem are these facts:

1. The rest of the world is considering changing the world currency from the U.S. Dollar to something else.

2. Quantitative Easing (a.k.a – Printing money or monetizing the debt) devaluing our currency.

3. Runaway government regulation causing American business to; leave the United States, downsize or flat out fail. Not to mention decreases in new business start-ups.

4. Out of control unemployment – The latest Unemployment numbers say 9.4% which is high enough, now factor in the fact that the latest drop in unemployment numbers seem to indicate loss of accountability of thousands who no longer qualify for unemployment and the U-6 report that shows a level closer to 17%. (U-6 Numbers)

5. Inflation – Signs of inflation are everywhere. The most obvious is the rise in gasoline and grocery prices. Even a nickel is now worth more than it costs to produce it. (http://buttonwood1792.blogspot.com/2010/10/signs-of-inflation.html) (http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/308162-hyperinflation/56070-economic-data-already-showing-signs-of-inflation)

6. Two protracted wars – We are entering the 11th year of conflict in Afghanistan and the eighth year in Iraq. Funny that now there is a Democrat in office we never hear the press report on either war. I seem to remember when Bush was in office almost nightly casualty numbers. Why is it when a Democrat breaks a campaign promise we don’t hear a word. Not a peep. I seem to remember Obama saying he was going to bring home the troops in 16 months. I predict we will hear the same promise in 2012.

There are, undoubtedly, some economic problems I have failed to mention, but at some point I need to return to the business at hand.
So with all of the above problems rocking our economy, why is it that people aren’t up in arms about the deficit? If your family budget ran a deficit I am quite sure it would have your undivided attention. Nobody spends our money like our government.

Reuters reported on a plan by the President to cut $1.1 trillion over the next 10 years. Ok, that sounds like a lot, but let’s go beyond the sound byte.

Currently our federal budget deficit is $1,317,067,880,551. So cutting anything less than 100% is unacceptable. I wrote 100% because the deficit is increasing so fast it would not be helpful to put a number. It has gone up almost a million dollars since I typed that number. (U.S. Debt Clock) How would you even know if you cut $1.1 trillion over ten years. I timed it and it takes the deficit just under 4 minutes (3:55) to go up $1 million. Doing a little more math that amounts to about $432 million per day, $12.96 billion per month, and $155.52 billion per year.

Finally we get to the interesting part. In ten years, if we stop spending what we don’t have, the federal deficit will grow by $1.5 trillion. So current deficit is $1.3 trillion add $1.5 trillion and you end up with $2.8 trillion. President Obama’s plan is to cut $1.1 trillion over 10 years. Subtract $1.1 trillion from $2.8 trillion and you end up with a budget deficit of $1.7 trillion which is actually more than the deficit today. By the standard of anyone who is not in government that is a deficit increase. I wonder if the mainstream media will do the math. My guess is that instead of doing the math they will simply quote Democrats who will say that it cuts the deficit in half. Does it cut the deficit in half? Well it almost cuts the projected deficit in half from $2.8 trillion to 1.7 trillion. But that is the perfect example of a politician substituting apples for oranges and hoping you don’t know the difference. The orange is what we are talking about, it is the current deficit of $1.3 trillion. It is insane for a government to spend money that it doesn’t have and We the People should settle for nothing less than a budget deficit of $0.00. Then we can talk about the debt.

The people we elect to office should be at least as responsible as the typical American. Homes and business’ go bankrupt when we run deficits, what do you think happens to a country that does the same?

The Rueters article can be found here:
Obama budget to cut deficit by $1.1 trillion