tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post6155926475722360397..comments2024-03-28T00:18:25.641-07:00Comments on Calafia Beach Pundit: Federal finances updateScott Grannishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-48525320469861400682011-12-13T10:50:43.773-08:002011-12-13T10:50:43.773-08:00Benji,
The answer is to cut back some in all of t...Benji,<br /><br />The answer is to cut back some in all of them. You should completely eliminate the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Deartment of commerce, Department of Energy, HUD, EPA, and privatize TVA and the USPS.Junkyard_hawg1985https://www.blogger.com/profile/18114117558513498514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-615089419080507472011-12-13T08:46:28.031-08:002011-12-13T08:46:28.031-08:00Below is list of largest federal agencies financed...Below is list of largest federal agencies financed by income taxes. Where should we cut?<br /><br />Department of Defense 3,200,000 6<br />Department of Veterans Affairs 240,000 <br />Department of the Treasury 162,119 <br />Department of Justice 124,870 <br />Department of Agriculture 100,000 <br />Department of Transportation 100,000 <br />Social Security Administration 65,000 <br />Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-79719330037845138752011-12-13T07:26:35.921-08:002011-12-13T07:26:35.921-08:00"concrete evidence that the Laffer curve is u..."concrete evidence that the Laffer curve is useless without consideration of other factors, if at all."<br /><br />John, the Laffer curve says there are two known tax revenues at various rates. At 0% taxation you get zero revenue and at 100% taxation you get zero revenue. The problem is that 47% of the population is at a zaro percent tax rate. Actually, let me correct myself we spendJunkyard_hawg1985https://www.blogger.com/profile/18114117558513498514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-38000571103371272002011-12-13T07:20:11.473-08:002011-12-13T07:20:11.473-08:00PS: All eyes should be focused on California...PS: All eyes should be focused on California...McKibbinUSAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10545798495680527622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-3746277156692628292011-12-13T07:18:52.899-08:002011-12-13T07:18:52.899-08:00Said another way, the Federal Reserve's gamble...Said another way, the Federal Reserve's gamble to save Federalism from itself has not saved Federalism afterall -- in the meantime, both monetary and fiscal policy have abandoned Main Street USA as part of their gamble -- the Main Street depression that is still raging across America has the potential to fracture Federalism from within -- therein lies the fallacy underlying the elitist brand McKibbinUSAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10545798495680527622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-1615044232049553952011-12-13T07:06:15.498-08:002011-12-13T07:06:15.498-08:00John-
Clinton raised taxes and cut military spendi...John-<br />Clinton raised taxes and cut military spending substantially, so SG's argument about gov't spending holds. Clinton also goosed the economy via a cynical "reform" of the telecommunications industry - a reform that gave us such enduring corporate titans as WorldCom, Global Crossing, RCN, Teligent.Donny Baseballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08040288585224426073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-17631669372179800522011-12-13T04:07:14.302-08:002011-12-13T04:07:14.302-08:00"The bad news is that the gap between spendin..."The bad news is that the gap between spending and revenues is still enormous."<br /><br />Very true and a direct result of the Bush tax cuts. You can't cut taxes, have two wars and a giant Medicare Part D entitlement and balance the books - concrete evidence that the Laffer curve is useless without consideration of other factors, if at all.<br /><br />By the way, for all the "Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06365403570563730880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-31795808033695915602011-12-12T20:13:47.270-08:002011-12-12T20:13:47.270-08:00Scharfy-
One of the worst ways to judge military ...Scharfy-<br /><br />One of the worst ways to judge military outlays is as a fraction of GDP. If our economy grows, our military threats do not grow correspondingly. <br /><br />The military loves this tripe of comparison, as it assures ever higher military outlays regardless of need or the burden they place on taxpayers.<br /><br />The right way to determine military outlays is to determine whatBenjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-83233015096407789362011-12-12T19:48:19.678-08:002011-12-12T19:48:19.678-08:00@ Benjamin,
Gotta ask if you can support your cla...@ Benjamin,<br /><br />Gotta ask if you can support your claim that Defense spending as a % of GDP has increased at all recently.<br /><br />Here's two sources(from both conservative and liberal) that seem to dispute that commonly cited claim.<br /><br />Krugman on it<br /><br />http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/realism-on-defense-spending/<br /><br />And the heritage foundation<br scharfyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18309882331114382248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-25463925585667439632011-12-12T16:23:25.130-08:002011-12-12T16:23:25.130-08:00Scott,
Not sure how you can make the direct leap ...Scott,<br /><br />Not sure how you can make the direct leap from a correlation between Federal Spending, % of GDP and Unemployment Rate to a causation argument. Unemployed individuals receive direct government payments, automatically increasing the Federal Spending if they outlast the State pools. In addition, higher unemployment would likely indicate lower GDP, which decreases the denominator inEHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08172472411323495048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-70489556796007410402011-12-12T15:48:42.466-08:002011-12-12T15:48:42.466-08:00Payments to individuals have soared, but have been...Payments to individuals have soared, but have been more than financed by payroll taxes. I would like to see Social Security and Medicare trimmed, by later retirement, and smaller pensions. <br /><br />Medicare we should try some experiments, like vouchers same for the VA, btw). <br /><br />The monster eating your income taxes has been Defense-Homeland Security-VA. Real outlays have doubled in Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-12906262896725325222011-12-12T15:21:08.266-08:002011-12-12T15:21:08.266-08:00"then the U.S. could escape the fate that has..."<i>then the U.S. could escape the fate that has engulfed the PIIGS countries, where deficits are above 9% of GDP.</i>"<br /><br />Scott,<br /><br />Here how PIIGS 2012 budget deficits are looking like:<br />Portugal -5,1%<br />Italy -3,5%<br />Greece -7,2%<br />Spain -6,0%<br /><br />Europe is cutting costs right now and trying to get the budget deficit down. And clearly this is not Kristjan Lepikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14743519128885331360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-34987547565078960162011-12-12T15:13:00.559-08:002011-12-12T15:13:00.559-08:00Scott-
I am paying attention to the PPI and CPI nu...Scott-<br />I am paying attention to the PPI and CPI numbers later this week. Do you think we could get negative inflation prints and thus could rattle Treasuries??Donny Baseballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08040288585224426073noreply@blogger.com