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Friday, November 14, 2014

WE’RE DROWNING IN A SEA OF DEBT…


Well it would seem that the federal government, in its infinite wisdom, is picking up in this new fiscal year exactly where it left off in the old one, by working to increase our already massive national debt. We begin FY-2015 by setting yet another new record for inflation-adjusted tax revenue, while at the same time running a deficit of $121.7 Billion, or an amount that equates to $1050.78 for every household here in these United States.

Now stop and think about this for a second, for each and every $1.00 that the Treasury brought in during the month of October the federal government turned right around and spent $1.57. Now what do you think would happen to you, and very short order, if that was the way that you chose to operate your own household budget. Especially since you do not enjoy the same luxury that Barry does, that of being able to print and endless supply of your own money.

So essentially what we have here is the continuation of what has become a very disturbing little trend here going all the way back to when it was that our current president was first election. Granted, the government has always, or nearly always, had the nasty habit of spending more than it has taken in, but never to the extent that has taken place during the presidency of one Barry "Almighty". And we’re still stuck with this guy for another two years.

During FY-2014, which ended on Sept. 30, the federal government took in the record amount of $3,020,809,000,000 in revenue but still ran a deficit of $483,336,000,000. In October, the first month of fiscal year 2015, total federal revenues were $212,719,000,000, according to data released by the Treasury. But federal spending was 334,432,000,000 for the month, which created a deficit of $121,713,000,000.

There are, today, 115,831,000 households in the United States. The federal government’s $121,713,000,000 deficit for the month equals $1,050.78 per each of those households. In constant 2014 dollars, the $212,719,000,000 in tax receipts the federal Treasury raked in during October is the most revenue ever for that month of the year. The next closest year was 2001. That October, the Treasury took in $211,234,700,000 in constant 2014 dollars.

The biggest source of federal tax revenue during the month of October came in the form of the individual income tax. During the month, taxpayers forked over an economy-stifling amount of $106,661,000,000 in these taxes to the Treasury. But that’s not all, taxpayers were also made to hand over another $73,581,000,000 in the form of payroll taxes covering the cost of Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance.

Now while it would be welcome news to hear that our freshly minted Republican congressional majority plans to take the necessary measures to get things under control, I’d be considered as being pretty naïve if I were say that I actually believed they will grab the bull by the horns and reel in our out of control Executive Branch. Our ‘leaders’ have already said they’ll do nothing that might result in a government shut down, so what else is really left?

These are perilous times that we now find ourselves in. And as they say, dangerous times call for dangerous measures. And in this case we’re talking about measures that could prove ‘politically’ dangerous. And because they’re ‘politically’ dangerous, the chances that they will be undertaken are pretty remote. So therefore we will likely continue on our present course while, at the same time, being inundated by all manner of rhetoric until the end finally comes.

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