US budget deficit to break $1 trillion in fiscal 2020, CBO says

Is there anyone besides myself that believes that continually spending like a drunken sailor is destroying the country? This is an issue that both political parties are responsible for and neither has done a darn thing to halt. Once upon a time a wise group of people wrote the following;

“We must impose firm caps on future debt, accelerate the repayment of the trillions we now owe in order to reaffirm our principles of responsible and limited government, and remove the burdens we are placing on future generations,”

Anyone know where the above paragraph is from? It's from the GOP's 2016 platform.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/01/state-union-debt-deficit/551978/

Let's call that a failed plan can we? Take a look at the reality of the situation;

"The U.S. budget deficit likely will break the $1 trillion barrier in 2020, the first time that has happened since 2012, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates released Tuesday.

After passing that mark this year, the deficit is expected to average $1.3 trillion between 2021-30, rising from 4.6% of GDP to 5.4% over the period. That’s well above the long-term average since around the end of World War II. The deficit since then has not topped 4% of GDP for more than five consecutive years, averaging just 1.5% over the period.

As part of a spending pattern that the CBO deemed unsustainable, the national debt is expected to hit $31.4 trillion by 2030."

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/28/us-budget-deficit-to-break-1-trillion-in-fiscal-2020-cbo-says.html

In case you missed it spending is UNSUSTAINABLE.

 

It is a train wreck that will happen, but probably not in the current political leaderships' lifetime. All Democrats spend like drunken sailors. The majority of Republicans go along so they don't cause a fuss -- besides they too reap the personal benefits. As Mitch McConnell says, "You don't lose votes by spending money" which is why Mitch fights so hard against true conservatives in primaries.

 

Fiscal Conservatives only exist when a Democrat is in the White House.

 

Your final sentence only looks at one part of the equation. Spending is only one part of the equation.

I agree it needs to be controlled or reduced, but it is only half of the equation. It was fiscally irresponsible, bordering on reckless, for the Rs to cut tax rates without a corresponding cut in spending.

The only fiscally responsible way to deal with the deficit / debt is
1. increase tax rates in a sensible and limited way to increase revenues without hurting the economy
2. control / reduce spending

Over the long term, 1+2 will result in a reduced deficit and ideally even a surplus. It will take years, and everyone will have to adjust to a different paradigm. ONLY after the deficit is under control / reduced to zero, should taxes be cut.

 

I agree.

Problem is right now the communists in this country are a more immediate threat.

If they get control and starting putting in their eleventytrillion dollar plans, we'll be begging for our old debt back.

 

Suggests those who want to provide free everything to anyone who can drag themselves over our border.

It borders on hilarity.

 

America: "Democrats, the current administration's spending is out of control, what's your response to that?"

Democrats: "You think that spending is out of control? Hold my beer!"

 

Republicans: Let's give tax breaks to the rich, because tax cuts pay for themselves.

 

Who is suggesting that? Not me.

 

False.

 

A very worn out game.

Democrats: Lets tax the wealthy because they have more than anybody so we can give it to people who didn't earn it and programs that are redundant and inefficient.

Republicans: Let's give tax breaks to working people, so they get a little more in their paychecks, and won't notice we are spending twice as fast.

Losers: The taxpayers. Winners: The Government and low wage earners.

 

All the people Democrats could possibly be voting for, for starters.

 

OK. The only solution is a Constitutional Amendment requiring a balanced budget.

Are you in?

 

Unsustainable indeed. The debt cap should be whatever the current level is. In other words no new debt. If we can have the guts to pay it down, the cap should move down with it. It isn't hard to see how to do it. We need to restructure federal government so that the administration has only five departments - defense, state, homeland security, treasury and justice. Everything else, including all social spending, should move to the states, the private sector or the trash can. Taxes would have to be cut drastically at the federal level and increased at the state level. The states have competition from other states. Federal government answers to nobody. The federal government acts like teenager with a limitless credit card.

 

I hate our out-of-control spending and our exploding debt ---- but what is a person to do? I wish the Republicans would be more aggressive in taking on the spending issue, but few politicians have the balls to really cut spending. That's the problem with each new gimme program ---- it's next to impossible to ever put an end to them because people get comfortable with free things. Conversely it's super easy to buy votes by promising more free stuff, so it's an almost impossible cycle.

But.........voting Democrat certainly isn't likely to reduce the debt, so there you go. We're left choosing who will waste our money the least, sigh. Meanwhile the Dem presidential candidates are (or should I say "were", since they're dropping like flies) falling over themselves to promise even more "free" things, debt be damned.

And then there are the unpredictable things which aren't the fault of any political party ---- like COVID-19, and the money we spend on natural disasters and so forth. Spend, spend, spend.

 

The only that matters to the RW now is owning the libs. No principles other than victory.

 

Inflation plus falling revenue over the past 35 years plus “we need to stop spending like drunken sailors.”

I believe we need to take in the whole picture when dealing with our finances moving forward. Re-examine our priorities. We don’t need to be supporting entities that don’t need our support. We don’t need to be outsourcing what we can do in-house at a lower cost (outsourcing have been a fiasco). We need sunset clauses too.

 

The Tea Party is (was) fiscally conservative. I was a member. But there aren’t enough of us. No one cares about the debt and deficits.

We’ll get up to $100 trillion in debt and the whole thing will collapse. That’s what we deserve.

 

So you're all buddies now

 

A balanced budget will d nothing to erase the fast approaching $24 TRILLION National Debt!!!!

 

First politician who tries to balance the budget will be a one term politician.

Everyone knows we need to curb spending but....

"You took money from kids!"
"You took money from old people!"
"You took money from the poor!"

 

I am with the OP 100%.

I am not a fan of what Trump has approved in spending. Our nation does not have a tax/revenue problem, we have a massive Spending problem. Trump has given it lip service, but not taken action. My hope is that when he is in his second term he actually addresses it. If not, I will be hugely disappointed in this matter as I am currently. The difference is Republicans give it lip service and some actually try to offer plans, the Democrats don't give a crap. Both parties have failed us here.

 

Absolutely. However, which political party is going to back it?

 

"A BBA would be a good reform, but a superior restraint might be a cap on the annual growth in total federal outlays. Congress directly controls spending, not deficits, so spending is a better target for a legal limit. Policymakers should consider either a statutory or constitutional cap to limit annual outlay growth to the growth in a chosen economic variable, such as output or incomes."

https://www.cato.org/publications/testimony/need-balance-budget-reduce-federal-debt

 

Haha, the Tea party? Really? The same Tea party that stopped being concerned the moment Obama left office, and Trump increased spending and cut taxes at the same time? That's got to be a joke.