Figures on Government Spending and Debt

[UpInArms]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=513&e=9&u=/ap/20050329/ap_on_go_ot/gov_finances

Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated). The government's fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

Total public debt subject to limit March 28 7,724,601

Statutory debt limit 8,184,000

Total public debt outstanding March 28 7,785,373

Operating balance March 28 36,100

Interest fiscal 2005 thru Dec. 120,248

Interest same period 2004 115,040

...more...

below I am taking the libert of adding 6 zeros to the numbers:

Total public debt subject to limit March 28 7,724,601,000,000

Statutory debt limit 8,184,000,000,000

Total public debt outstanding March 28 7,785,373,000,000

Operating balance March 28 36,100,000,000

Interest fiscal 2005 thru Dec. 120,248,000,000

Interest same period 2004 115,040,000,000

and a visual of public debt:

[RobertSeattle]

1. Culture of DEBT

[FogerRox]

2. I'm indebted >wink

[Daphne08]

3. How ironic that this government

wants to rein in the citizen's little debt problem with the new and improved "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005."

[EVDebs]

4. Red Ink Republicans....Cadillac Conservatives...Culture of Hypocrisy

[firefox]

5. You mean interest is $40 billion a month?

Interest fiscal 2005 through Dec. 120,248,000,000

With interest rates going up and debt skyrocketing, we are going to spend a half a trillion dollars in calender year 2005.

I sure would like to know how much of this goes to the corporate ownership of the Federal Reserve. It's a big secret, that Federal Reserve.

[gasperc]

6. on track for a debt limit vote next year

that'll go over well

although the last vote went fairly smooth and it was pretty close to Nov.

[Festivito]

7. Why does debt go up 595b$ & Yahoo reports 412b$?????

Total deficit fiscal 2004 412,284 ...according to Yahoo!
from 09/30/2003 to 09/30/2004 (fiscal 2004) debt rose 595,822 ...according to debt to the penny:
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm
WHY THE DISCREPENCY????

ASIDE: The 595 B$ difference is OVER the once much touted 5% of GDP (11,735 B$ ...according to :
http://www.bea.gov/bea/newsrel/gdpnewsrelease.htm
) that RusmugliCONs shoved in my face when I raised the deficit being large.

NOTE: The deficit is like a 25% net tax increase (after the "'"" tax cut ""'") with which Bush is shafting SS.

[UpInArms]

8. 'cause they don't count the $$$ that they took from the SS

Trust Fund -

it runs a positive - they use it to fund the day-to-day operations of the government - putting in worthless (according to Meanspin) IOUs of US Treasuries - and it makes the total of the National Debt not look as bad as it is.

[Festivito]

9. Any idea where the correct numbers are???

212,567 m$ Intragovernmental Holdings
383,254 m$ Debt Held by the Public
595,821 m$ total. checks.
according to:
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpdodt.htm

383 b$ is close to the 411 b$. 28 b$ to justify. Hmmmm. Any ideas?

[UpInArms]

10. you might try here

http://mwhodges.home.att.net/deficit-trusts.htm

Total Federal Government debt at end FY 2004 was $7.4 trillion, according to the.Federal Debt Report. Of that total, according to the Treasury Dept., $3.1 trillion was owed to trust funds, because the general government siphoned-off all surpluses that should have been kept in those trust fund accounts for specific use - - like employee and senior pensions. After siphoning off trust funds for other uses they placed non-marketable IOUs in the trust accounts instead of marketable assets - - with no budget to pay-back the trust funds.

Trust funds include many different special trust accounts: such as the social security trust fund, the federal employee retirement fund, federal hospital trust fund, railroad retirement fund, military retirement fund, employee life insurance fund, etc.

The practice of siphoning-off trust fund surpluses to spend on non-trust stuff is a way of camouflaging general government deficit spending, making it appear to be in surplus when it's really in deficit - - - or making it appear that a huge deficit is just a modest deficit. Politicians like this practice, but such is dangerous to the financial health of future retirees and our young generation - - and such undermines citizen trust in government..

Note the left chart showing exploding debt owed to trust funds - - an increase of $2.2 trillion during the past 13 years - - or 340% higher.

...more...