Obama's Dastardly Deficit
The master politicians have done it again. I have watched the news channels and commentators. They have completely ignored the fact that during Obama’s first year, there has been an act of terrorism on American soil. I would say Obama and his Attorney General knew exactly when to break this story of the trials for the five terrorists coming from the hands of military decisions in Gitmo. The questions raised about Obama’s decision on the request of the military commander in Afghanistan have also been erased from the minds of Americans. If this isn’t a political master stroke, I don’t know what is.
The news media, even Fox, are being led around by the nose like a calf to slaughter. The new White House council, Anita Dunn’s husband, is another way of getting some underhanded things done. As politicians, the Obama administration has no equal. There have been programs put in place, like this health care bill, waiting in the wings to destroy our economy. The refusal to allow drilling on our shores and the interior, but going to solar and wind farms has been a joke – put in place for the benefit of General Electric. Their CEO is in the pocket of Obama and GE’s NBC and affiliates are a voice used for the benefit of the Obama administration. I know the Obama administration is going to have Chris Matthews’ leg bronzed.
The deficit is growing at a fantastic rate. Our balance of payments is at a disastrous rate, and our Treasury department is printing money at a phenomenal rate to help Obama along, but all it is doing is lowering the value of our dollar lower and lower. The importation of oil, which is completely unnecessary, is a large part of this. Also, the taking of a large part of that is the fact that the government took over a large portion of our auto industry and efforts made to help the labor unions survive and grow. Don’t forget, the Obama administration still has Card Check up its sleeve to have the labor unions take over the country. Who has been the person given an inordinate amount of visits to the White House – Andy Stern, the labor leader of the SEIU and helper to ACORN.
See the following:
By Bob Willis
Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) — The in the U.S. widened in September by the most in a decade, reflecting rising demand for imported oil and automobiles as the economy rebounded from the worst recession since the 1930s.
The gap grew a larger-than-anticipated 18 percent to $36.5 billion, the highest level since January, from a revised $30.8 billion in August, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Imports surged by the most in 16 years, swamping a gain in exports.
Demand for foreign products may remain elevated in coming months as consumer and business spending improve and companies aim to prevent inventories from collapsing even more. may also rise as expanding economies in Asia and Europe and a weak dollar drive demand for American goods, giving manufacturers such as Dow Chemical Co. a lift.
“Sometimes what looks bad on the surface is actually quite good and I think that’s the case this time around,” said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. “Exports are growing strongly and imports are turning up because domestic spending has turned the corner.”
The dollar dropped after the report. One euro cost $1.4875 at 8:50 a.m. in New York, up 0.2 percent from late yesterday. The yen climbed to 89.68, up 0.8 percent. Stock-index futures pointed to a gain at the open.
Exceeds Forecasts
The trade gap was projected to widen to $31.8 billion, from an initially reported $30.7 billion in August, according to the forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 77 economists. Deficit projections ranged from $28.6 billion to $34.1 billion.
A collapse in world trade earlier this year brought the gap down to $26.4 billion in May, its lowest level since November 1999, as imports plunged even faster than exports. As commerce begins to pick back up, global leaders agree more needs to be done to strengthen the expansion.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other finance ministers at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore this week reiterated a pledge to maintain stimulus efforts “until a durable recovery in private demand is secured.”
Asia is “leading the world” back to recovery, Geithner told reporters at a joint press briefing with his APEC counterparts. President Barack Obama began a swing through Asia today as world leaders work toward a rebalancing that will make global growth more reliant on spending by Asian consumers and businesses and less dependent on their American counterparts.
Imports Jump
Imports climbed 5.8 percent, the most since March 1993, to $168.4 billion. The figures reflected a $4.1 billion increase in imported oil as the cost of a barrel of crude climbed to the highest level since October 2008 and volumes also rose.
Purchases of foreign-made autos and parts surged by $1.7 billion to $16.4 billion, due mainly to a $1.3 billion increase in imports from Canada and Mexico as North American vehicle production picked up. Imports from South Korea also climbed.
The federal “cash for clunkers” auto trade-in program, which expired in late August, generated momentum in car sales and boosted demand for parts and supplies. Automotive inventory restocking is also boosting demand for foreign-made autos and parts.
U.S. sales for South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Co. increased in September for the third month in a row, while Toyota Motor Corp. is boosting production of models such as Corollas and Camry sedans to rebuild its U.S. inventory.
Replenishing Stockpiles
“Our inventories are continuing to recover with a very good pipeline as we move into the fourth quarter,” Robert Carter, Toyota’s North America sales chief, said on a conference call last month.
Exports rose 2.9 percent to $132 billion, the most this year, propelled by sales of civilian aircraft, industrial machines and petroleum products. The dollar this month was down 12 percent from a five-year high reached in March against a trade-weighted basket of currencies from it’s biggest trading partners.
China’s economy grew 8.9 percent in the third quarter from the same period in 2008, the best performance in a year. Exports to the Asian nation were the highest since October, even as imports from China also climbed.
“The economic outlook for the rest of 2009 appears to be stabilizing, with strong growth in Asia Pacific, especially China, and other emerging geographies,” Andrew Liveris, Dow Chemical’s chief executive officer, said in an Oct. 22 statement.
Factory Pickup
Dow’s factories around the world ran at 78 percent of capacity in the third quarter, an increase of 3 percentage points, because of increased demand in developing markets, including China and Brazil, as well as relatively low North American ingredient costs that led to increased exports. The largest U.S. chemical maker yesterday said cost cuts and rising sales will boost earnings more than analysts estimate.
After eliminating the influence of prices, which are the numbers used to calculate gross domestic product, the trade deficit grew to $41.7 billion, the highest since January. The figures suggest the government may revise down their estimate for third-quarter economic growth.
The U.S. is growing again after posting its worst contraction in seven decades. The world’s largest economy expanded at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the best performance in two years. Economists surveyed last month forecast a 3 percent rate of growth this quarter.
To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Willis in Washington at bwillis@bloomberg.net
Obama says he is going to reduce the deficit. Then why is he wanting to increase the national debt limits? He could use the tarp funds and the unused portion of the stimulus to keep from having to raise the debt limit. The adding of $1.3 trillion boondoggle of a health care bill to take affect in four years, right after the next election, is very droll.
See this article:
By Rebecca Christie
Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) — The Obama administration is confident Congress will raise the country’s limit by year end to avert a showdown similar to the one that shuttered parts of the government in 1995, administration officials said.
The White House wants an increase of at least $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, according to a person familiar with the deliberations between lawmakers and the administration. Record deficits are pushing the national debt closer to the $12.1 trillion statutory limit.
The administration’s request, higher than a proposed increase already passed in the House of Representatives, would get the government through the November 2010 midterm congressional elections without needing another increase. Earlier this month, Treasury officials acknowledged they’ll need more borrowing room by year-end to avoid market disruptions.
“Market participants still remain on edge, especially since many have concerns over the rising debt loads that were kicked off this year,” said , chief fixed- income rates strategist in New York at primary dealer Cantor Fitzgerald LP.
The administration officials said the White House is open to any legislative vehicle that will raise the debt limit, by any amount. Although the Obama administration has pledged to bring deficits down to “sustainable” levels in the longer term, Treasury Secretary has focused recently on the need to keep up spending on economic assistance programs until the unemployment rate, which reached a 26-year high of 10.2 percent in October, comes down.
TARP Savings
To rein in the 2010 deficit, the administration will save as much as it can from unused portions of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, another administration official said. Treasury data show that the administration has more than $200 billion in uncommitted TARP funds.
One Treasury official said the memory of the 1995 budget standoff should be motivation to avoid another showdown. In that confrontation, then-House Speaker battled with the White House over federal budget bills, forcing President to shut the government down temporarily.
With the economy still in the early recovery stage, Congress understands the stakes and doesn’t want to fuel investor concern, the official said.
Republicans in Congress are seeking to link the debt limit to the debate over health-care spending, while Democrats prefer to keep the two issues separate. The Senate Budget Committee has proposed a commission to look into the nation’s fiscal health, which backers say should be a condition of any debt limit increase.
‘Not Right’
“We’re seeing deficits projected for the next 10 years of over a trillion dollars a year,” said Senator of New Hampshire, the ranking Republican on the Budget Committee, in congressional comments last week. “It’s not sustainable. It’s not fair, and it’s not right.”
Treasury debt-management director told bond market participants in Washington last week to expect another year of government debt sales of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in fiscal year 2010, which began Oct. 1, according to minutes of the meeting.
For fiscal year 2009, which ended Sept. 30, the U.S. racked up a $1.4 trillion deficit, and the Congressional Budget Office in August predicted a deficit this year of about the same size.
Treasury officials also have said they have less maneuvering room than in the past. Tactics such as tapping federal retirement funds would free up roughly $150 billion – about the same amount as the interest payments that come due on Dec. 31.
Temporary Measures
“Depending on the date that we hit the debt limit, they could last days or at most weeks,” compared with five or six months in previous debt-limit impasses, said , deputy assistant Treasury secretary for federal finance, in a press conference last week.
Forecasting a precise date for a debt-ceiling collision is difficult because the government’s cash flows are “volatile,” the Treasury said last week, adding that it would keep markets and lawmakers notified of developments. The department said it could need extra immediate cash because there’s so much uncertainty surrounding incoming taxes and outgoing spending on fiscal stimulus and financial market stabilization programs.
“Debt ceiling showdowns used to be long, drawn-out affairs,” said , chief economist at Wrightson ICAP in Jersey City, New Jersey. “Things come to a head much faster when your cash burn rate averages more than $100 billion a month.”
To contact the reporter on this story: in Washington at rchristie4@bloomberg.net
I think every wife, mother, father and relative of any of our soldiers killed in Afghanistan during the time Obama has stalled and wavered about sending additional troops to help those troops already there who are feeling neglected and demoralized should turn to their representative and Senator (regardless of party), as well as the news media and DEMAND an apology from Obama!
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