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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: j-at-home who wrote (244977)	6/11/2003 7:03:00 AM
From: Giordano Bruno	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 436258

Budget Deficit Seen Soaring Above $400 Billion Tue June 10, 2003 05:17 PM ET By Andrew Clark WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The approval of President Bush's latest tax cuts will push the U.S. budget deficit to a new record of more than $400 billion this year, government analysts now predict. The tax cut package, adopted last month, will add $61 billion to federal budget shortfalls in 2003, the Congressional Budget Office said in its latest monthly budget review. With government revenues still weak amid a sluggish economy, that will boost the deficit for the year far above the prior high of $290 billion set in 1992, it said. The latest projection is broadly in line with earlier forecasts from other federal and private-sector analysts, who have predicted that falling tax revenues and rising defense spending will lead to record deficits in coming years. Democrats generally blame Bush's $1.35 trillion tax cut package in 2001 for the recent, sharp reversal in the U.S. fiscal position. And they say his new $350 billion tax cut plan will only serve to dig the deficit hole deeper. "The best way to ensure that we, as well as our children and our grandchildren, are overtaxed for the rest of our lives is to keep borrowing money to cover our deficits," said Texas Democratic Rep. Charlie Stenholm. "Our children will pay higher taxes simply to cover increasing interest payments." FISCAL TURNAROUND The U.S. government enjoyed four straight years of budget surpluses between 1998 and 2001. As recently as early 2001, White House and congressional analysts were both forecasting 10-year cumulative budget surpluses of up to $5.6 trillion. Republicans argue the 2001 tax cuts helped the U.S. economy recover from recession and the after-effects of the Sept. 11 attacks, and say the new package will help create much-needed jobs and eventually boost government revenues. "I don't think the growing deficit is going to be damaging to the economy, because in relation to the gross domestic product it's relatively small," said House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican. In its report, the agency said the government ran a shortfall of $291 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30. "CBO now projects that the federal government is likely to end fiscal year 2003 with a deficit of more than $400 billion, or close to 4 percent of gross domestic product," it said. Rising deficits have yet to become a major political issue outside of Washington, but some analysts believe that may change if the numbers continue to climb. Democratic analysts recently forecast the 2004 deficit would near $500 billion. reuters.com

To: j-at-home who wrote (244977)	6/11/2003 9:40:58 AM
From: Horgad	Respond to of 436258

That was in British papers a few weeks back. The whole thing looked hoaky from the start.

To: j-at-home who wrote (244977)	6/11/2003 11:59:34 AM
From: yard_man	Respond to of 436258

ugghhh ... I heard a radio show last night supporting Bush -- saying the WMD was just incidental -- we had big humanitarian concerns -- made me sick. But then again, the whole deal makes me sick -- sham and hoax from start to finish. One of the problems is -- folks in other countries know it is all BS and our country looks ... well ... as smart as W.