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  1. Havakasha is offline
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    Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 5,358
    07-05-2011, 12:17 PM #1

    Chart of the Day

    For the actual chart and more of the article click on the following link:
    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2....php?ref=fpblg

    CHART OF THE DAY: ‘Out Of Control Spending’ Not Really Out Of Control At All
    Brian Beutler | July 4, 2011, 11:25AM


    It's taken as an article of faith in D.C. that government has gotten too big, spending is out of control, and Washington has to tighten its belt, just like everybody else. Even President Obama takes this view.

    This has meant no small consequences for the federal budget. In the spring, Republicans launched an effort to slash tens of billions of dollars from non-defense discretionary programs -- money the government approves every year to pay for social services and other programs -- from the federal budget. That campaign almost ended in a government shutdown.

    That same sliver of the budget is again under attack in the fight over whether to raise the national debt limit. Republicans want to reduce overall domestic spending and cap it for years going forward, so it can't exceed a set level. That means as time goes on, the population grows, and the cost of goods and services increases, the government will be spending less and less on the people who rely on these programs over time.

    But a close look at the numbers reveals a few important, and frequently overlooked facts. Domestic discretionary spending is a small sliver of the budget. Our deficit and debts can be traced to the fact that spending on entitlement programs and defense has shot up, and tax revenues have plummeted to their lowest level in decades. But spending on domestic discretionary programs has grown much more slowly. And, if you correct for inflation, and for growing population, it turns out we're spending exactly the same amount on these programs as we were a full decade ago.

    These numbers come from Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee, who are doing their best to guard this turf.

    "Although non-defense discretionary spending in nominal dollars has increased, when taking inflation and population growth into account the amount contained in the [2011 budget] represents no increase over what we spent in 2001, a year in which we generated a surplus of $128 billion," said chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) in a prepared statement. "So the right question to ask is: Are we really spending too much on non-defense programs? The answer is clearly no."

  2. Atypical is offline
    07-05-2011, 01:28 PM #2
    The post above is one of the most important articles on this subject I have seen. The shrill con-job conservatives lie to be able to scare people into supporting their rape of the country for their corporate overlord's benefit.

    Check the link. It provides important graphic support for the points made

  3. Havakasha is offline
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    Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 5,358
    07-05-2011, 02:09 PM #3
    This is part of an additional post from Joan McCarter over at Dailykos.com

    The refrain that's won the day, apparently, for budget negotiators racing to see who can get the most praise from the Very Serious People for making the most Americans suffer under austerity, is "we having a spending problem." Not to put too fine a point on it: Bullshit.

    In 2001 the Budget Was Balanced. What Happened?

    Fiscal Year 2001, Fiscal Year 2011, Difference
    Discretionary:Security, $494 Billion, $858 Billion, +364 Billion

    Discretionary:Non-Security, $369 Billion, $369 Billion, Zero

    Mandatory Programs, $1,712 Billion, $2,343 Billion, +$571 Billion

    Total Revenues, $2,724 Billlion, $2,228 Billion, (-$496 Billion)
    (19.5% of GDP) (14.8% of GDP)


    That's a chart from the Senate Appropriations Committee, making a key point.

    Our deficit and debts can be traced to the fact that spending on entitlement programs and defense has shot up, and tax revenues have plummeted to their lowest level in decades. But spending on domestic discretionary programs has grown much more slowly. And, if you correct for inflation, and for growing population, it turns out we're spending exactly the same amount on these programs as we were a full decade ago....
    "Although non-defense discretionary spending in nominal dollars has increased, when taking inflation and population growth into account the amount contained in the [2011 budget] represents no increase over what we spent in 2001, a year in which we generated a surplus of $128 billion," said chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) in a prepared statement. "So the right question to ask is: Are we really spending too much on non-defense programs? The answer is clearly no."

    ...In the wake of the Bush tax cuts, and the Great Recession, tax revenue has fallen through the floor to near-historic lows. As a percentage of GDP, it's fallen 24 percent since 2001, and if you correct for inflation, the government is collecting nearly 20 percent less per person than it was a decade ago. At the same time, the population-adjusted costs of mandatory spending programs—driven by Medicare, including its new prescription drug benefit, and Medicaid—have increased by over 30 percent. And, of course, defense spending has skyrocketed. But if you isolate domestic discretionary programs, a decade later we're spending no more on a per-person basis than we were back then.

    What has increased? Health care spending, but at a rate that would have nearly been covered by massive loss of revenue in the past decade. TPM took the numbers from the Committee and "put them in a slightly different context, so you can see by what percentage spending and revenues have risen and fallen on a population adjusted basis over the last decade."
    Last edited by Havakasha; 07-05-2011 at 02:12 PM.

  4. SiriuslyLong is offline
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    Joined: Jan 2009 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 3,560
    07-10-2011, 07:24 PM #4
    Daily Kos LMFAO.

  5. Havakasha is offline
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    Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 5,358
    07-11-2011, 02:39 PM #5
    http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...a-s-books.html

    These facts are obviously painful for the right wing of the Republican Party because they expose some basic lies being told.

    CHART OF THE DAY: ‘Out Of Control Spending’ Not Really Out Of Control At All
    Brian Beutler | July 4, 2011, 11:25AM


    It's taken as an article of faith in D.C. that government has gotten too big, spending is out of control, and Washington has to tighten its belt, just like everybody else. Even President Obama takes this view.

    This has meant no small consequences for the federal budget. In the spring, Republicans launched an effort to slash tens of billions of dollars from non-defense discretionary programs -- money the government approves every year to pay for social services and other programs -- from the federal budget. That campaign almost ended in a government shutdown.

    That same sliver of the budget is again under attack in the fight over whether to raise the national debt limit. Republicans want to reduce overall domestic spending and cap it for years going forward, so it can't exceed a set level. That means as time goes on, the population grows, and the cost of goods and services increases, the government will be spending less and less on the people who rely on these programs over time.

    But a close look at the numbers reveals a few important, and frequently overlooked facts. Domestic discretionary spending is a small sliver of the budget. Our deficit and debts can be traced to the fact that spending on entitlement programs and defense has shot up, and tax revenues have plummeted to their lowest level in decades. But spending on domestic discretionary programs has grown much more slowly. And, if you correct for inflation, and for growing population, it turns out we're spending exactly the same amount on these programs as we were a full decade ago.

    These numbers come from Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee, who are doing their best to guard this turf.

    "Although non-defense discretionary spending in nominal dollars has increased, when taking inflation and population growth into account the amount contained in the [2011 budget] represents no increase over what we spent in 2001, a year in which we generated a surplus of $128 billion," said chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) in a prepared statement. "So the right question to ask is: Are we really spending too much on non-defense programs? The answer is clearly no."