Quote:
Originally Posted by
reefraff http:///t/393144/well-done-mitt-you-took-it-to-him-last-night/160#post_3498074
The wars would have added 170 billion to that amount I believe. The budget is a forward looking estimate of expenditures vs revenue. It's not until the end of the fiscal year that we know the actual numbers. When unexpected expenses come up during the year congress can appropriate additional funds to cover them. Once the fiscal year is finished (budget for FY 2007 should have been completed in October of 2006) the actual revenues and expenditures are computed to come up with the deficit for the year. Some sources use the year ending numbers and some use the numbers from the actual budget.
I don't know where Darth got his numbers but I don't recall us getting that close to balance. The war spending that year was 170 billion so I think there would have been a big deal made about actually having a surplus that year without the wars. Times were good so the revenue was there but they weren't THAT good LOL!
I found the right-wing site where he got his charts. Here's some interesting explanations for those various comparisons:
2001 vs. 2009
According to the CBO, the U.S. last had a surplus during fiscal year (FY) 2001. From FY2001 to FY2009, at the height of the
Global Financial Crisis, spending increased by 6.5% of GDP (from 18.2% of GDP to 24.7%) while taxes declined by 4.7% of GDP (from 19.5% of GDP to 14.8%). Spending increases (expressed as % of GDP) were in the following areas: Medicare & Medicaid (1.7%), defense (1.6%), income security such as unemployment benefits and food stamps (1.4%), social security (0.6%) and all other categories (1.2%). Revenue reductions were individual income taxes (?3.3%), payroll taxes (?0.5%), corporate income taxes (?0.5%) and other (?0.4%).
The 2009 spending level is the highest relative to GDP in 40 years, while the tax receipts are the lowest relative to GDP in 40 years. The next highest spending year was 1985 (22.8%) while the next lowest tax year was 2004 (16.1%).
2001 vs. 2011
In June 2012, CBO summarized the cause of change between its January 2001 estimate of a $5.6 trillion cumulative surplus between 2002 and 2011 and the actual $6.1 trillion cumulative deficit that occurred, an unfavorable "turnaround" or debt increase of $11.7 trillion. Tax cuts and slower-than-expected growth reduced revenues by $6.1 trillion and spending was $5.6 trillion higher. Of this total, the CBO attributes 72% to legislated tax cuts and spending increases and 27% to economic and technical factors. Of the latter, 56% occurred from 2009 to 2011.
The difference between the projected and actual debt in 2011 can be largely attributed to:
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$3.5 trillion – Economic changes (including lower than expected tax revenues and higher safety net spending due to recession)
$1.6 trillion – Bush Tax Cutsont> (EGTRRA and JGTRRA), primarily tax cuts but also some smaller spending increases
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$1.5 trillion - Increased non-defense discretionary spending
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$1.4 trillion – Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
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$1.4 trillion - Incremental interest due to higher debt balances
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$0.9 trillion - Obama stimulus and tax cuts (ARRA and Tax Act of 2010)
The U.S. budget situation has deteriorated significantly since 2001, when the CBO forecast average annual
surpluses of approximately $850 billion from 2009–2012. The average deficit forecast in each of those years as of June 2009 was approximately $1,215 billion. The New York Times analyzed this roughly $2 trillion "swing", separating the causes into four major categories along with their share:
Recessions or the business cycle (37%);
Policies enacted by President Bush (33%);
Policies enacted by President Bush and supported or extended by President Obama (20%); and
New policies from President Obama (10%).
Several other articles and experts explained the causes of change in the debt position
2008 vs. 2009
In October 2009, the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) gave the reasons for the higher budget deficit in 2009 ($1,410 billion, i.e. $1.41 trillion) over that of 2008 ($460 billion). The major changes included: declines in tax receipt of $320 billion due to the effects of the recession and another $100 billion due to tax cuts in the stimulus bill (the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or ARRA); $245 billion for the
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and other bailout efforts; $100 billion in additional spending for ARRA; and another $185 billion due to increases in primary budget categories such as Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, Social Security, and Defense – including the war effort in Afghanistan and Iraq. This was the highest budget deficit relative to GDP (9.9%) since 1945.[sup] [/sup]The national debt increased by $1.9 trillion during FY2009, versus the $1.0 trillion increase during 2008.
The Obama Administration also made four significant accounting changes to more accurately report the total spending by the federal government. The four changes were:
[list type=decimal]
accounting for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ("overseas military contingencies") in the budget rather than through the use of supplemental appropriations;
assuming the Alternative Minimum Tax will be indexed for inflation;
accounting for the full costs of Medicare reimbursements; and
anticipating the inevitable expenditures for natural disaster relief.
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According to administration officials, these changes will make the debt over ten years look $2.7 trillion larger than it would otherwise appear