Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A story of two spills


Source. HT: Dick Grannis

11 comments:

Benjamin Cole said...

An improvement of this cartoon would be to show, geographically, where the money comes from and then goes--in other words, which states generate the red ink.

The truth is that the Red States are aptly named.

W.E. Heasley said...

That's a great picture!

Paul said...

True love really is blind. Your boyfriend has added 2.5 trillion to the debt in 500 days. Since Pelosi took over the Congress, annual spending has increased by around a trillion dollars.

The progressive income tax is the main culprit for the geographical disparity. You already know this, hence your conspiracy theory the GOP is really the party of taxing the rich.

John said...

I understand your point. However you have likely understated the size of the 'spill' in the gulf.

Those of you who are interested, you may find a map of the spill at:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/36913967

It is virtually in my lap right now.

Douglas said...

This is a disturbing cartoon. But then that is all it is... a cartoon. What is happening in the Gulf of Mexico right now is so tragic that it is a kind of travesty to have it minimized in the way that this cartoon does for the goal of scoring political points.

11 PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES, entire segments of the economic basis of the people of the Gulf Coast are in dire risk, entire ecosystems will sustain damage that will take decades to recover, and the oil that is gushing into the Gulf is greater than anyone can really grasp, equivalent to an Exxon Valdez-size spill every four days, with the relief wells being very hazardous to perform, and if they fail then this well could spew enormous quantities of oil into the Gulf indefinitely.

You guys are something else, quibbling about your little political ideologies, scoring points with pathetic ad hominem sniping and elitist economic theorizing.

I hold Scott in high regard, which is why I read this blog, so far from my comfort zone, because that is how one learns. John and I would probably agree on little, but I think he has some grasp of what is happening in the real world. Unfortunately, many of you huddle in your right wing echo-chamber which I have discovered is just as effective as the left wing echo-chamber... alas... and will probably continue to do so as the Real World devolves around you. You need to get out more.

Paul said...

Douglas,

Though we may try, we can't all reach your plateau of sophistication and concern.

You are truly an inspiration.

Scott Grannis said...

Doug: may I submit that you need to spend more time in the economic and financial world to appreciate the monstrous scale of the deficit that Obama and the Dems are unleashing on the world.

Douglas said...

Scott,

I guess that time will tell on all fronts. With some luck the relief wells will hit the target and kill the gusher by September. Then time will tell how bad the damage will actually be. I think I do understand the perilousness of the deficit, but I don't blame it all on the Dems and Obama. It seems that two ill-conceived wars (owned by both parties) didn't help much and both parties have plenty of blood on their hands when it comes to enabling the meltdown we have experienced. A bi-partisan fubar if there ever was one. That's what I mean about political points. And then voices in the economic and financial world are all over the map on the issues of finance and governance. Some authoritative voices agree with you some do not. At any rate that is why I read here, to learn.

Scott Grannis said...

Doug: our deficit problem has very little to do with wars. It's mostly the product of a relentless increase in government spending relative to the size of the economy, which in turn is mostly due to an expansion of entitlements. Well over half the budget is consumed by transfer payments. Worse still, entitlement spending is going to increase massively going forward if current law is not changed. Then you have the unfunded liabilities of social security and medicare that are not yet part of the budget and already add up to many trillions of dollars. And of course both parties are complicit in all this, but Obama has now captured the crown for the biggest big spender of all.

How I wish that war spending were our main problem.

Douglas said...

Scott, I do not imagine that the wars are our only, or even our biggest problem, but surely if we hadn't been bleeding out billions of dollars a month we would have been in somewhat better position... but I take your point. Sometimes I wonder what the IMF or World Bank would tell us we had to do if we were a Third World Country...

I don't think the political will exists to deal with the long term financial condition of the country any more than it exists to deal with even more fundamental problems of resources and energy. No one on any level wants to hear that the way we have been living our lives is the problem and that we have to restructure our lives to continue in a reasonable fashion.

Benjamin Cole said...

"Our deficit problem has very little to do with wars."

I find this a puzzling statement.

"According to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report published in October 2007, the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost taxpayers a total of $2.4 trillion dollars by 2017 when counting the huge interest costs because combat is being financed with borrowed money. The CBO estimated that of the $2.4 trillion long-term price tag for the war, about $1.9 trillion of that would be spent on Iraq, or $6,300 per U.S. citizen." Wikipedia.

Of course, since 2007, Obama has directed US troops to go back into Afghanie (costing more billions), even while the situation in Iraq may be worsening.

You know, a trillion here, and a trillion there, and it starts to add up to real money.

If you add up DoD, VA, Homeland Security, Civilian Defense and debt payments from wars you get to $1 trillion a year.

Make no mistake: Wars cost a lot of money, and bulk up the federal deficit. To say they do not is just fantasy.