“The Numbers Don’t Lie Part I” – Voices of US
By: Richard A. Mathews
For some “odd” reason, the White House and Congress seem to be incapable of finding a solution to our nation’s debt and deficit crisis.
The Super Committee is very unlikely to agree on $1.2 Trillion in deficit reductions over the next ten years.
The reason I consider this situation odd is, “The Numbers Don’t Lie.”
I think you will quickly understand my dilemma after reviewing the following information.
| Fiscal | Total | National | Social | Income | Medicare | Health | Other | Surplus |
| Year | Receipts | Defense | Security | Security | Expenses | Deficit | ||
| 2000 | $2,025 | $294 | $409 | $253 | $197 | $154 | $482 | $236 |
| 2007 | $2,560 | $551 | $586 | $566 | $375 | $266 | $384 | ($168) |
| 2010 | $2,115 | $719 | $721 | $683 | $457 | $372 | $768 | ($1,605) |
| Variance | ||||||||
| FY07-FY10 | ($445) | $168 | $135 | $117 | $82 | $106 | $384 | ($1,437) |
Perhaps someone can explain,
“What part of this fiscal insanity is holding up negotiations?”
Contrary to the assertions of one party, our Nation is facing a major revenue shortfall.
Using the 2007 fiscal year as the base year prior to the onset of the Great Recession, American tax receipts are over $400 Billion less today than four years ago!
Yet it is in reviewing the rapid increases found within the categories of Income Security, Medicare and Health totaling $303 Billion more than they did three years ago that Main Streets need for assistance is most evident.
The Numbers Don’t Lie.
They clearly prove the Great Recession of 2007 has lowered our federal receipts by over $400 Billion while increasing our spending by $303 Billion.
For once the Academics contention our budget and deficit crisis cannot be solved without long-term growth appears indisputable.
Any contention the budget can be balanced immediately is not worthy of consideration.
The fact our economic recovery should have been the primary emphasis of two Presidents and now a third consecutive Congress has left our Federal Government with a 9% approval ratings the lowest in history.
“It’s the Economy Stupid,” apparently remains a thought unheard within the same Beltway which continues to under estimate the nation’s resolve for ending our conflicts abroad.
As has been noted by the left and the right,
When 45 million American are on food stamps and 3 million have been unemployed for over 99 weeks, we have a problems at home far more important than Nation Building in Afghanistan.
We could spend the next two thousand words lambasting our Government for their tried and failed attempts to jump-start an economy suffering from structural unemployment. While that exercise could prove emotionally beneficial, let us agree, in time economic growth will restore the majority of the $400 Billion shortfall in tax revenues we have experienced since 2007. In addition, few dispute that as the recovery occurs the majority of the increase we have accumulated related to providing for the unemployed will abate. Effectively, our assumption that unemployment will return to a historical levels of 5% within half a decade as GNP increases would lower the 2011 projected deficit by a combined $650 Billion by 2016.
If we can agree that both of those contentions are plausible, the Budget debate comes down to how much do we cut spending and or how much do we need to actually raise taxes to find the other half of our budget shortfall?
In Part II of this series we will search for the $750 billion in spending cuts as well as possible revenue enhancements which appear to be beyond the White House and our leaders in Congress ability to objectively reach closure upon.
