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What's going to happen, is someone going to foreclose on the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, or on the military's Humvees?
There are no such options in Treasury securities. There are only two things an investor can do -- one, hold the security all the way to maturity, or two, sell it early in secondary markets. Secondary markets for US Treasuries are of course gigantic, being one of the pillars of global financial systems and operations.
Yields on 10-year Treasuries closed yesterday at 1.81%. This is a measure of how many people have money to invest and how popular investing in the US economy is these days. It isn't like we go out to lenders begging them for a loan of dollars. Rather it is entirely the case that people with dollars come begging to us, asking that we please take and hold their dollars for them even at only little bits of interest. This is the reality of the situation, despite the rather different picture that whacko distortionists might try to paint. Whackos after all are just good people to ignore.
There are no such options in Treasury securities. There are only two things an investor can do -- one, hold the security all the way to maturity, or two, sell it early in secondary markets. Secondary markets for US Treasuries are of course gigantic, being one of the pillars of global financial systems and operations.
Yields on 10-year Treasuries closed yesterday at 1.81%. This is a measure of how many people have money to invest and how popular investing in the US economy is these days. It isn't like we go out to lenders begging them for a loan of dollars. Rather it is entirely the case that people with dollars come begging to us, asking that we please take and hold their dollars for them even at only little bits of interest. This is the reality of the situation, despite the rather different picture that whacko distortionists might try to paint. Whackos after all are just good people to ignore.
Right. The debt jeremiads seem to think that the federal budget is like a family grocery budget and that the country's finance system works just like that family buying a used car on credit.
That's where the politics get involved. Cutting anything is going to affect people's livelihood or affect what they feel is important.
Really? Because we all happen to know there are some pork barrel spending that could easily be cut, that wouldn't affect anyone. Except the politicians themselves.
What about the 6 billion dollars the State Dept "lost?"
Why don't these discussions ever turn into "Where do we need to make cuts?"
This has been posted before, but it routinely leads to quite a lot of silence. It is a list of all federal outlays of at least $10 billion included in the FY 2011 budget. Things are enough the same in FY 2016 that the list should serve as a fine jumping off point for budget axe-wielders. Maybe this time they will share with us where and how all these cuts of theirs can most efficiently be made...
SS Pension & Survivor -- 599
Interest on Public Debt -- 454
Military Operations & Maintenance -- 291
Medicaid -- 275
Medicare Part-A -- 263
Medicare Part-B --234
Unemployment benefits -- 168
Military Personnel costs -- 162
SS Disability -- 132
Military Procurement -- 128
Food Stamps -- 78
Military R&D -- 75
Civil Service Benefits -- 74
Veterans Pension and Other Benefits -- 68
Medicare Part-D -- 66
TANF -- 66
Earned Income Tax Credit -- 56
Supplemental Security Income -- 56
Highway programs -- 45
Veterans Medical Benefits -- 40
Pell Grants etc. -- 38
National Institutes of Health -- 34
Entire Dept of Energy -- 31
Housing & Economic Recovery -- 29
TARP -- 24
Additional Child Care Credit -- 23
Military Construction -- 20
Race to the Top grants -- 20
Section 8 housing -- 19
All other housing -- 19
NASA -- 18
Child Nutrition programs -- 17
IDEA/Special Ed programs -- 17
Foreign assistance -- 15
All Community Planning block grants -- 14
Entire Dept of the Interior -- 14
Make Work Pay Tax Credit -- 14
State budget support for schools -- 12
Customs & Border Patrol -- 12
Transit programs -- 12
Security Assistance -- 12
Child & Family services -- 11
US Coast Guard -- 11
Foreign affairs -- 11
Civilian air operations -- 11
EPA -- 11
Entire Dept of Commerce -- 10
FBI and DEA -- 10
Corps of Engineers -- 10
This has been posted before, but it routinely leads to quite a lot of silence. It is a list of all federal outlays of at least $10 billion included in the FY 2011 budget. Things are enough the same in FY 2016 that the list should serve as a fine jumping off point for budget axe-wielders. Maybe this time they will share with us where and how all these cuts of theirs can most efficiently be made...
SS Pension & Survivor -- 599
Interest on Public Debt -- 454
Military Operations & Maintenance -- 291
Medicaid -- 275
Medicare Part-A -- 263
Medicare Part-B --234
Unemployment benefits -- 168
Military Personnel costs -- 162
SS Disability -- 132
Military Procurement -- 128
Food Stamps -- 78
Military R&D -- 75
Civil Service Benefits -- 74
Veterans Pension and Other Benefits -- 68
Medicare Part-D -- 66
TANF -- 66
Earned Income Tax Credit -- 56
Supplemental Security Income -- 56
Highway programs -- 45
Veterans Medical Benefits -- 40
Pell Grants etc. -- 38
National Institutes of Health -- 34
Entire Dept of Energy -- 31
Housing & Economic Recovery -- 29
TARP -- 24
Additional Child Care Credit -- 23
Military Construction -- 20
Race to the Top grants -- 20
Section 8 housing -- 19
All other housing -- 19
NASA -- 18
Child Nutrition programs -- 17
IDEA/Special Ed programs -- 17
Foreign assistance -- 15
All Community Planning block grants -- 14
Entire Dept of the Interior -- 14
Make Work Pay Tax Credit -- 14
State budget support for schools -- 12
Customs & Border Patrol -- 12
Transit programs -- 12
Security Assistance -- 12
Child & Family services -- 11
US Coast Guard -- 11
Foreign affairs -- 11
Civilian air operations -- 11
EPA -- 11
Entire Dept of Commerce -- 10
FBI and DEA -- 10
Corps of Engineers -- 10
Without knowledge as to how these programs could cut, I couldn't say. But...I can cherry pick a couple and give you an idea.
The Child Nutrition Program.
I worked in a school cafeteria and the federal guidelines were insane. Common sense budget management that would allow the managers in those kitchens to order fresh foods, in a free market, and serve to the children in a streamlined fashion, would probably allow free lunches for every child, AND cut the budget.
Income Tax Returns, Make Work Pay Tax Credit...etc.
Under a simplified tax code, we wouldn't need to do this...the correct taxes would be taken out from the beginning. If you could simplify the tax code, then you could also make budget cuts to the IRS.
Some of these that you listed should be making money,...but I digress.
Also, had the federal government not dipped into SS, it wouldn't be a tax burden today. It was set up to pay for itself.
So nothing significant to cut then. Just some less than nickel-and-time talk. Same as it ever was. People insist that a meat-cleaver could be taken to the federal budget, but then they just stand there and gawk.
By the way, the above table (once again) includes only OUTLAYS. Social Security as you may not know is WAY in the black, sitting as of the end of FY 2016 on an invested surplus of $2,842,591,861,000.
So nothing significant to cut then. Just some less than nickel-and-time talk. Same as it ever was. People insist that a meat-cleaver could be taken to the federal budget, but then they just stand there and gawk.
By the way, the above table (once again) includes only OUTLAYS. Social Security as you may not know is WAY in the black, sitting as of the end of FY 2016 on an invested surplus of $2,842,591,861,000.
I could pick all of these apart and come up with significant savings.
This also isn't EVERYTHING that the federal government is spending money on.
Taxing isn't the answer...at some point, our money will run out..then what?
Cuts WILL HAVE TO BE MADE.
Make them now.
I could pick all of these apart and come up with significant savings.
Easy to say, difficult to do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cryren8972
This also isn't EVERYTHING that the federal government is spending money on.
Correct. It's just a list of all federal outlays of at least $10 billion that were included in the FY 2011 budget.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cryren8972
Taxing isn't the answer.
That depends on what the question is. Why is taxing -- a form of receipts -- even relevant to a list of federal outlays.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cryren8972
..at some point, our money will run out..then what?
No, a monetary sovereign (e.g., the US, but not Greece) can NEVER run out of money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cryren8972
Cuts WILL HAVE TO BE MADE. Make them now.
There is no NEED to make cuts. Some may fear spending and therefore favor cuts as a political matter, but the economics of it are plainly to the contrary.
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