US annual budget gap hits nearly $2T, largest in 5 years

(reuters.com)

20 points | by JumpCrisscross 12 hours ago ago

13 comments

  • al_borland 11 hours ago ago

    The budget and the debt are the two things I really care about and this administration has handled it horribly. The 25 years have all been bad, but at some point someone had to do something about it before it spirals out of control, right? It seems like we’re at the tipping point.

    • magicalhippo 11 hours ago ago

      He is doing something about it, he's going to ensure inflation makes the debt really tiny. At least he's been pretty vocal about that.

      • bigbadfeline 9 hours ago ago

        > He is doing something about it, he's going to ensure inflation makes the debt really tiny. At least he's been pretty vocal about that.

        Inflation is a form of debt repayment by way of regressive taxation imposed on the middle and below with interest delivered to the rich.

        • magicalhippo 9 hours ago ago

          Well yes of course, but he's rich so that's not an issue he needs to worry about.

    • verdverm 11 hours ago ago

      As a real estate person, all he understands is debt based financing. It's also why he wants low interest rates, it's better for his forged accounting books.

      ETTD is a thing for a reason, I'm trying to be optimistic (and civically active) that the country is an exception to this rule.

      • fuzzfactor 9 hours ago ago

        Not real, but "false estate" instead.

        • verdverm 8 hours ago ago

          that's golden, like if king midas still had his touch, too bad epstein unalived

    • fuzzfactor 10 hours ago ago

      What do you expect when there's a gap between many of their ears that's the largest in 5 years too . . .

    • rayiner 10 hours ago ago

      Nobody will do anything about it. American politics runs on promising voters free stuff without higher taxes (“no taxes on tips”). Meanwhile, the people are innumerate. Half the country thinks you can balance the budget by cutting out “fraud and waste” and the other half thinks you can do it by “taxing billionaires.” Everyone is too ignorant about the world outside the U.S. to look at what middle class taxes look like in places like Sweden or France that offer all the social services they want here.

      It’ll also keep getting worse as the country fractures into more and more blocs that can be kept together only through the promise of more free stuff that someone else will pay for.

      • bigbadfeline 9 hours ago ago

        > Everyone is too ignorant about the world outside the U.S. to look at what middle class taxes look like in places like Sweden or France that offer all the social services they want here.

        Maybe instead of looking at "the world outside the U.S." you could look into fundamental economics? As I explained above, repayment by inflation is a regressive tax imposed on the middle and below, with interest paid to the rich. This is only cosmetically different from what Sweden and France are doing.

        • rayiner 6 hours ago ago

          If people can’t understand basic facts like how much money there is to be saved or taxed in various places they certainly can’t understand what you’re saying.

  • sleepyguy 11 hours ago ago

    Yeah, Trump keeps talking about how Biden gave Ukraine 100s of billions which is bullshit but has no problem spending 1 Trillion on fighting Iran. Currently on the very conservative side of things the War in Iran has cost every American at a minimum 2k on the low end. The guy just knows how to dig a hole and there is no bottom for the loser. The next administration will be doing triage for an entire 4 years trying to save the country after this sob and the sobs in his administration.

  • tstrimple 8 hours ago ago

    This is what happens every single time a conservative administration is in charge. Literally. Every. Single. Time. Conservatives fuck up the deficit giving the rich tax cuts and liberals come in and patch things back together again. There is something deeply wrong with conservative voters on many aspects.