Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve harris who wrote (426242)	7/13/2003 9:58:05 AM
From: jttmab	Respond to of 769670

What was hilarious last week was ABCradio news at the top of the hour. One day was sound bites with Terry and the next day was sound bites with Stephie. Real news to liberals I guess. And that is not a sound bite? jttmab

To: steve harris who wrote (426242)	7/13/2003 10:03:04 AM
From: jttmab	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Bush strutted through Africa telling them he's got $3 Billion for the AIDS pandemic. He didn't mention that the White House only requested $1.9 Billion; he didn't mention that Congress is only considering $2 Billion [could be round up] and he didn't mention that the White House budget office is saying they would be happy with what the $1.9 Billion that the White House requested....where is the $3 Billion? jttmab

To: steve harris who wrote (426242)	7/13/2003 10:13:41 AM
From: jttmab	Respond to of 769670

If there's one thing you can count on in this Administration it is their budget estimates....after all, this is the first MBA President ever elected [sound bite heard frequently spoken by conservatives]. The estimate for by the White House for occupying Iraq was $2.2 Billion; the current burn rate is: $3.9 Billion ...that's off by 77% ....just add it to the national debt, no problem. They already gave up on the $400 Billion estimate for the deficit this year...that was only a couple of months ago. It's only Jul we've got an upward revision or two before the end of the fiscal year. washingtonpost.com Iraq Cost Could Mount to $100 Billion Impact on Other Programs Feared By Jonathan Weisman Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, July 13, 2003; Page A22 The cost of the war and occupation of Iraq could reach $100 billion through next year, substantially higher than anticipated at the war's outset, according to defense and congressional aides. This is raising worries that other military needs will go unmet while the government is swamped in red ink. The cost of the war so far, about $50 billion, already represents a 14 percent increase to military spending planned for this year. Even before the United States invaded Iraq in March, President Bush had proposed defense budgets through 2008 that would rise to $460 billion a year, up 74 percent from the $265 billion spent on defense in 1996, when the current buildup began. At the same time, the federal budget deficit is exploding. This week, officials expect to announce that it will exceed $400 billion for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, the largest in U.S. history by a wide margin. Former White House budget director Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. said last month the deficit should be smaller next year, but economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. -- factoring rising war costs -- said Friday the deficit may climb even higher than their previous $475 billion estimate. "It's already unclear whether [the Bush defense buildup] is sustainable," said Steven M. Kosiak, a defense budget analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. "Add another $50 billion, and it's doubly unclear." Administration officials concede that spending levels in Iraq are considerably higher than anticipated. At the onset of war, Dov Zakheim, the Pentagon's chief financial officer, said post-combat operations were expected to cost about $2.2 billion a month. By early June, he had adjusted that forecast to $3 billion. But with about 145,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq, some under fire, costs have continued to climb. The average monthly "burn rate" from January to April, a span encompassing the "heavy combat" phase of the war, was $4.1 billion, Zakheim said. That is not much higher than current expenditure rate of $3.9 billion a month for the occupation, even though most of the Navy and Air Force contingents have been sent home.....