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Politics : Actual left/right wing discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (3175)	10/19/2006 10:21:46 AM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10087

Administration officials said the actual 2006 deficit is down to 1.9% of the gross domestic product. That percentage is below the 40-year average deficit of about 2.3% of the GDP That is, in my opinion the best way to measure it. I suppose you could also measure it in real per-capita dollars, but since our economy grows the deficit can grow by that measure without really being worse. To put any great importance in the nominal dollar figure doesn't make a lot of sense. You can get frequent "record deficits", even as the actual deficit situation improves. That having been said with the upcoming costs for medicare and social security I'm not sure that a 4 year low (in nominal dollars) or being below the 40 year average (as a percentage of GDP) is enough for to make me comfortable with the current deficit. I'd like to see it continue its recent downward trend. And of course entitlement reform would be a great idea.