[travelstiles]

See attached article By Jeremy Pelofsky and David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Monday projected the U.S. budget deficit will soar to a record of nearly half a trillion dollars in fiscal 2009 ...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080728/...omy_deficit_dc
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Several factors at work here - the housing debacle, corporate bailouts, and the 'economic stimulus program.' And this forecast does NOT include the costs for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

What are your thoughts on this situation? For one thing, I feel that the economic stimulus checks were a foolish idea and just a shallow political move by both parties to provide a short-term uptick in consumer spending. The government is just borrowing more from this and future generations to hand out checks. Reminds me of Wimpy from the Popeye cartoon...
"I'll galdly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today..."

[Boomer]

I have not yet seen it, but I was told today that the Cincinnati Enquirer has a full page ad by the FDIC saying basically, "Hey, we're the FDIC and we have never let you down."

I find the perceived need for such an ad by the FDIC pretty terrifying.

To paraphrase a little Pogo, "We have met the FDIC and he is us."

And the stimulus package. I ranted about that a long time ago. Idiots all.

IcannotgetstartedonthisIcannotgetstartedonthisIcan notgetstartedonthis.

Remember many years ago when somebody probably made you read Orwell's Animal Farm. Remember at the end of the book when the pigs had taken over and had kicked the farmer out and had moved into his house.

The version we are trapped in right now is something like that.

And the pigs sure are in the House and in the Senate.

IcannotgetstartedonthisIcannotgetstartedonthisIcan notgetstartedonthis.

Boomer

[JohnN]

I just pray every day that somehow our government wakes up.
I've nearly given up hope.

[Villages Kahuna]

Yep, add the projected record deficit to the almost $10 trillion national debt (100% of which has been created in the last eight years, I might point out). Then add the $700 billion a year that we're paying, mostly to Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia, for oil. Throw in the $300 billion that's been approved by Congress to bail out the home mortgage industry. In another ten years, unless things change a whole lot in Washington, we could have a national debt of $20 trillion. Those that are running our country spend money like we had it. They're like the family that simply opens a new credit card when they need to spend to maintain their lifestyle.

Where's the money going to come from? So far we've relied on other countries to buy our IOU's (U.S. Government bonds and other obligations). But if they ever reach the conclusion that they're simply "full up" of U.S. risk...we are all in a BOATLOAD of financial trouble!

Lots and lots of changes are needed in those that govern our country...that's as clear as the nose on our faces.