... and this picture is pretty darn dismal. We've seen it before in these pages. It shows America's federal government finances as of mid-2021. Click it for a larger view.
It's from this article, which is worth reading. The facts and figures it provides speak for themselves.
To those who say that's a meaningless picture, and doesn't reflect financial reality:
Quite so.
Peter
Sadly, it doesn't seem to matter who's in the WH. The national debt doubles about every 8-10 years.
ReplyDeleteBecause its the wrong metric. Yes, American politics is divided by presidential eras. But its the flavor of Congress which is the real metric. Its Congress fiddle faddling with the tax code, monetary policy, where & how to spend monies, et al.
DeleteDismal doesn't even begin to describe it!
ReplyDeleteTNX. Great article. Re-reading more slowly this time 'round. May have to read it yet again - not all of it permeates that quickly.
ReplyDeleteWhen was the last time we had acreal budget
ReplyDeleteSooner it all collapses, sooner we can start over.
ReplyDeletehey Peter'
ReplyDeleteThis is frightening and dismal as Old NFO said, I am a bit concerned because we have played by the rules, put money away for our retirement and our money buys less and less and will there be anything left when we retire or will we have to work until we die because we have no choice because our dreams of a "golden Years" have been stolen from us by feckless spending and clowns running the government, and even worse my son will have to live in this world with a debased currency and little hope.
@MrGarabaldi: I hear you. I have no pension, having walked away from the ministry for reasons outlined some years ago (see the sidebar on this blog). I'll never be able to stop working. That's not a comfortable thought... but then, as long as I'm able to work, why not? It's not like the world owes me a living.
ReplyDeleteThis is so insanely out of control that it would be easier to understand as a semi-log plot! It's not going to end well.
ReplyDeleteThe last normal budget was signed by Obama in his first months of office. It was the one vetoed by Bush after the 2008 election, so it went through the normal order process under his presidency.
ReplyDeleteOnce the government figured out how to put the budget on autopilot, we are now on a controlled flight into terrain. Like the Far Side cartoon, "What's that mountain goat doing in middle of the cloud?"