$900 billion in gov't borrowing seen through March

[UpInArms]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The government, raising cash to pay for the array of financial rescue packages, said Monday it plans to borrow $550 billion in the last three months of this year — and that's just a down payment.

Treasury Department officials also projected the government would need to borrow $368 billion more in the first three months of 2009, meaning the next president will confront an ocean of red ink.

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Budget estimates all the government economic and rescue initiatives, starting with the $168 billion in stimulus checks issued earlier this year, total even more — an eye-popping $2.6 trillion.

One day before voters set out to elect the 44th president, new economic reports brought more bad news.

The widely watched Institute of Supply Management gauge of manufacturing activity plunged in October to its lowest level since the country's last deep recession, the 1981-82 downturn.

And automakers turned in terrible October sales figures. Sales sank 45 percent at General Motors Corp., 30 percent at Ford Motor Co., 25 percent at Honda Motor Co. and 23 percent at Toyota Motor Corp.

The Commerce Department's report on construction spending Monday showed a 0.3 percent decline in September, the third drop in the past four months.

"We are now deep in the belly of the recession beast," said Bernard Baumohl, managing director of the Economic Outlook Group.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081103/ap_on_bi_ge/financial_meltdown

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a trillion here, a trillion there - pretty soon, you're talking real money!

:sarcasm:

[whosinpower]

1. And so goes the final act of Bush Jr.

Leave office to the next guy with a sea of red ink as far as the eye can see. And when Obama is faced with these consequences - how much will he be able to accomplish of his social programs?

Scorched earth - leave nothing behind.

[UpInArms]

2. hopefully, there will be just enough money to launch a full scale

investigation that will result in the forfeiture of all of the assets of the thieves who have been looting this country for the past eight years (then the coffers will be be refilled)

:hi: