hugo

From America's second greatest man. Is there a federal deficit? Apr 19, 2006 by Walter E. Williams ( bio | archive | contact ) A Let's push back the frontiers of ignorance about the federal deficit. To simplify things, I'll use round numbers that are fairly close to the actual numbers. The nation's 2005 gross domestic product (GDP), what the American people produced, totaled $13 trillion. The federal government consumed $2.4 trillion, but it only received $2 trillion in tax revenues, leaving us with what's said to be a $.4 trillion budget deficit. By the way, it's sheer constitutional ignorance to say that President Bush spends or lowers taxes. Article I, Sections 7 and 8, of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress authority to spend and tax. The president only has veto power that Congress can override. Getting back to deficits, my question to you is this: Is there truly a deficit? The short answer is yes, but only in an accounting sense -- not in any meaningful economic sense. Let's look at it. If Congress spends $2.4 trillion but only takes in $2 trillion in taxes, who makes up that $.4 trillion shortfall that we call the budget deficit? Neither the Tooth Fairy, Santa nor the Easter Bunny makes up the difference between what's spent in 2005 and what's taxed in 2005. Some might be tempted to answer that it's future generations who will pay. That's untrue. If the federal government consumes $2.4 trillion of what Americans produced in 2005, it must find ways to force us to spend $2.4 trillion less privately in 2005. In other words, the federal government can't spend today what's going to be produced in the future. One method to force us to spend less privately is through taxation, but that's not the only way. Another way is to enter the bond market. Government borrowing drives the interest rate to a level that it otherwise wouldn't be without government borrowing. That higher interest puts the squeeze on private investment in homes and businesses, thereby forcing us to spend less privately. Another way to force us to spend less privately is to inflate the currency. Theoretically, Congress can consume what we produce without enacting a single tax law; they could simply print money. The rising prices, which would curtail our real spending, would act as a tax. Of course, an important side effect of doing so would be economic havoc. Some Americans have called for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution as a method to rein in a prolific Congress. A balanced budget is no panacea. For example, suppose Congress spent $6 trillion and taxed us $6 trillion. We'd have a balanced budget, but we'd be far freer with today's unbalanced budget. The fact of business is that the true measure of the impact of government on our lives is not the taxes we pay but the level of spending. The founders of our nation would be horrified by today's level of American servitude to their government. From 1787 to the Roaring '20s, federal government spending, as a percentage of GDP, never exceeded 4 percent, except in wartime, compared to today's 20 percent. The average taxpayer, depending on the state in which he lives, works from Jan. 1 to May 3 to pay federal, state and local taxes. That means someone else decides how four months' worth of the fruits of the average taxpayer's labor will be spent. The taxpayer is forcibly used to serve the purposes of others -- whether it's farm or business handouts, food stamps or other government programs where the earnings of one American are taken and given to another. This situation differs only in degree, but not in kind, from slavery. After all, a working description of slavery is the process where one person is forcibly used to serve the purposes of another. The difference is a slave has no rights to what he produces each year, instead of just four months. Let's cut spending and taxes.

On Iraq,I have to agree with you 100%. we should concentrate on getting a dictator who is benevolent to US interests installed. Worked with the Shah of Iran for a quarter century before Jimmy Carter screwed it up. Let me quote Pat Buchanan: Turkey is probably about the best example of a Muslim democracy.

And to think this guy has an IQ rivaling Newton's. Paraphrasing Reagan again "It ain't what Quarky doesn't know that scares me. It's what he thinks he knows that just ain't true."

The answer is school vouchers.

Not true. Strong correlation between IQ and spelling ability. No one with a 165 IQ, without a strong mental defect, would have typed the passage I quoted. Quarky is a stupid liar. Case closed.

Mr Geniuse's post before his adult special needs helper taught him how to use a spell checker. He has my pitty (sic).

The most overrated author in history is either James Fenimore Cooper or William Faulkner.

I think they should also be thrown out of the country if they indulge in inciting terrorism.

Keep lying to yourself. You won't fool anyone else. You are a fucking idiot. The dead sea scrolls were OT and other writings they had nothing to do with either verifying or disproving the NT. Quarky is a fucking idiot. Probably got the ADD diagnosis since it is politically incorrect to call people idiots now.

I tend to notice the older people get the more family oriented they are. The only problem with capitalism is socialism. Big companies can utilize government to further their agenda. That is why lobbyists exist. Eliminate socialism and capitalism falls in line with the public interest.

They provided a product..you bought it...shut the fuck up.

Too stupid to reply to. The books of the Bible were written in the 1st and 2nd centuries. Case closed.

Yes, it does. He was a pre-Fabian socialist. They have led us far down the road to serfdom.

We should not blame it on the politicians. We get what the majority deserve and 98% of people are fucking dumbasses. We had two legitimate choices in 2000, Harry Browne and Pat Buchanan.

The Great Goombah tells me that is blasphemy. You are fortunate GG is a forgiving god.

I doubt if we could be that lucky. You are more likely to be abducted by one of Quarky's Bible spouting aliens.

The future of the world is brown. Get used to it.

Not me. It is the standard Catholic belief that the Council of Nicaea was guided by the Holy Spirit. Secular humanist arguments that man could not have overcome their prejudices to pick out the correct books to compile the Bible are true. They are moot though since Christians claim divine intervention.

Once again, Quarky has been proven an idiot. It is hard to believe people as stupid as he is exist. Let us thank Monsanto for the possibility of a pesticide free world. Thank God for big corporations. Just had my copy of Romeo and Juliet carbon dated; it came out it was printed in 2001. Damn historians say it was written in the 16th Century.

What do you want us to debate..you brainless bot?

Swift was a fuckin' liberal.

This is where Fabian socialism has brought us.

The Council of Niceae was guided by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit don't fuck up.

Excerpts from A Republic, Not an Empire by Patrick J. Buchanan AntiWar.Com Conference - San Mateo, California March 25, 2000 We shoulda voted for Pat.

I knew that would elicit a response from you. Who is the predictable one? Hopefully we will begin to start seriously prosecuting whores who falsely charge rape. Theft of services maybe. Rape, I don't think so. We also need to eliminate rape shield laws. That would stop a lot of these false accusations.