How to spin a $314 billion dollar defecit into "good news"

[Rude Horner]

Amazing article. With Clinton, we had surpluses, yet THIS is somehow good news. I'm dizzy from the spin

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/08/15/budget.deficit.ap/index.html

<snip>
surging revenues and a steadily growing economy are combining to bring the deficit down from a record $412 billion posted last year. The coming budget year starts October 1.

The report is welcome news for President Bush, who has seen the budget situation during his tenure deteriorate markedly from predictions of unending surpluses when he took office in January 2001.

"The CBO report confirms the dramatic improvement in the 2005 deficit picture that the administration reported last month," said Scott Milburn a spokesman for the White House budget office. "A strong economy fueled by tax relief is generating stronger-than-projected revenues."

The White House foresees a $333 billion deficit for the year that's about to end and a $341 billion deficit for next year.
<snip>

I feel SO much better now. :sarcasm:

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. With a deficit like that, you would think that 47 million more people

would have healthcare in this country.

[Mr Rabble]

2. Glorious leader proves his worth. I want to puke.

[Deja Q]

3. That article annoyed me too and it came from forbes magazine. You know,

Forbes - who blames offshoring on American workers like they had big-time one or two issues ago...

[G_j]

4. how much of those "surging revenues"

are from surging oil profits? Just wondering..

[Inland]

5. Um...how come it's going up again next year?

If the revenues are economy driven, we must be at the "normal" even keel deficit.

And Bushwants another cut.

[Rude Horner]

6. Yeah, I noticed that too.

Some good news, huh? We're $314 billion in the hole this year, and next year it will be more. But that ol' economy is just sailin' along strong, huh? :wtf:

And then if you read further into the article it talks about how it's going to be even worse farther down the road.

Yet the first couple of paragraphs make it somehow sound like the picture is rosy.

Ya know, there was a time in my life when I couldn't pay my bills and was falling further and further behind in debt. Back then, If I was expecting to be $1000 short, and it turned out I was $800 short, I didn't exactly jump for joy. Either way, I was screwed.

[Inland]

7. Some things could encourage you, even if $800 short

The change in circumstances, for example, could be because you just started a new job this week and therefore next week you might be back on budget.

But if the next week you were $1200 short, you'd know that things were bad and going to stay bad. That's where we are now. The economy, which Bush likes to call "recovering" four years after the recession ended, is as good as it's going to get. Revenues are as high as they are going to get. And Bush is looking to put in MORE tax cuts and make others permanent.

We're at a baseline deficity of $350-$400B before the next round of cuts, forever and ever and ever.