In addition there is a report that available jobs for college graduates exceed the number of graduates. These are jobs flipping hamburgers.

Defeatocrats don't just look at the glass as half full, they consider it half full with pollution caused by republicans.

so, that would be a pre-emptive namecalling. not even waiting to see what folks might have to say first. just hurl the bile as far and wide as it'll go, huh.

sucks when you're tanking, doesn't it...

If a liberal were to admit that the economy is good, that would mean admitting that Bush has created a good economy, which would mean admitting that Bush's view of economics has validity, which would invalidate the Democratic view of the world. Most likely their heads would start to spin around and around until they burst.

Pollution caused by Republicans?

Now I've heard it all. Ever wonder why so many Democrats are usually young, don't have a job, or just plain stupid.

Exhibit A

Hillary now even admits the economy is going pretty good.

They have a new twist to things...it's going good for some people but not everyone.

These people live in a Utopian World sometimes. Imagine that, people without skill sets, without educational backgrounds (some of which have chosen that lot in life) aren't doing as well as others who picked themselves up from the bootstraps, bust their hump, etc.

Wow, you're kidding me Hillary. You're kidding me.

Then again, everyone should get a trophy in these people's minds. No failing grades. Dodgeball teaches bad things, etc. etc. Good grief

How's that record deficit sitting with you guys? About to swallow you whole?

Muff,
Do you have a question? Is there something about the debt and the deficit that you don't understand?

Let me help you here, job creation means a growing economy, a growing economy means more revenues to the Federal Government, more revenue means servicing the debt ahead of schedule (which is what Mr. Bush is doing), servicing the debt earlier means lower interest payments, and lower interest payments mean the debt shrinks.

I'm sorry, I thought you wanted to discuss the headline above; I guess you just wanted to do some sloganeering and then leave.

"Servicing the debt earlier means lower interest payments, and lower interest payments mean the debt shrinks."

Hmmm, so when the deficit has grown on average 2.4 BILLION DOLLARS PER DAY since Sept. 30, 2005 .. then that's your idea of the debt shrinking. Ha.

The debt isn't the deficit, dingbat.

I meant the "debt has grown on average..."

The debt is the accumulation of deficits; thank you for your kind correction, though.

The debt is dynamic and predicated on the service of the debt payments. As the payments are accelerated the interest payments are reduced. Deficit spending can reduce the debt by putting interest into the out years. As the economy continues expanding the out years can be moved into the current 10 year projections.
This, by the way was the calculation Clinton used when he declared a balanced budget. The Bush White House uses more realistic numbers accounting for the Social Security bust pending around 2012. Neither Clinton’s nor Bush’s calculations have proven accurate and the cost of servicing the debt is always greater than the Budget calculated the previous year ... except this year, where the accelerated payments will lower the interest paid.

The debt is not an accumulation of deficits; this would assume both the budget and the debt are static, which we already established the debt is dynamic, the Budget, prepared in advance of the fiscal year is static.

Here are some facts about the debt you may not realize;
1) The Federal Government doesn't depreciate its capital assets. Therefore purchases aren’t capitalized the same as they are in the private sector; this has the effect of making the Government look like it’s losing assets over time.
2) Because the debt is primarily owed to the public, the revenue payments go to Bond holders; foreign ownership of the debt has been consistent since the 1980’s.
3) There is a difference between a structural debt and a cyclical debt.
4) the debt can be inflationary, but as long as the economy keeps expanding this is not an issue. the point of this post is that new higher paying jobes are being created; this helps the economy in the long term by allowing for a paydown of the debt.

This is risky; Clinton announced a "record payment" on the National Debt in 2000 and by 2001 we were in a recession.
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/05/01/clinton.debt/

The Demorats can not use the economy as an issue. They lost the immigration debate to the Republicans based on the "who do you trust more?" in Rasmussen, and the Got no Plame story is deader than dead.

Maf53

You mean the deficit that is a smaller % of our GDP then FDR's deficit, JFK's deficit, Reagan's deficit....that one?

Please, try again.

Yea okay, we don't have debt. Yea okay, you aren't going to get SLAUGHTERED in november. Yea, there isn't a civil war in Iraq. Yea, there isn't an problem with CIA undercover companies being exposed. Yea, there isn't any problem with Arabs running the ports. Yea, there isn't any kind of energy problem. Yea, there isn't an unrest in afghanistan. Yea, China isn't any kind of industrial threat. Go on and on. You can keep making shit up, but it won't help you. I swear you guys would look at a pile of corpses and then go "those people are fine, tell them to take some personal responsibility"

Steve

You must be miserable 24/7. In what administration ever has anything been perfect? Where everyone is employed? Where there is no disease? Where somewhere in the world people are at war?

Good grief man, pull it together. Or just kill yourself and end it because the utopian world you want doesn't exist...EVER!

The interest in feburary 2006 for the national debt was 151 billion. Thats while running a 220 billion deficit. I don't know how this is good but whatever...

I'm not asking for perfection, I'm asking for people to try to solve some problems instead of acting like they don't exist. The whole "don't look at it and maybe it will get better" approach might be good for fat cats, but I don't believe in it. I prefer to actually adress problems and try to SOLVE them.

"...utopian world you want doesn't exist...EVER!"
-Warriornation

I'd vote for a vision like this. Are you counting on the great recoming of Jesus? If the world is obliterated by nuclear war, will you try to make the case that Jesus existed in nuclear weapons and so he really DID come back but he didn't stay cause he wasn't done thinking in heaven yet cause 2000 years wasn't long enough but pat robertson's son talked to God and he said he'd be coming back so I'm going to keep praying and sending in my money in hopes for my eternal reward which isn't whats important its the love.

Whoa, I think I was just saved, I feel woozy and a strange urge to ask people for 50 dollars...

"You mean the deficit that is a smaller % of our GDP then FDR's deficit, JFK's deficit, Reagan's deficit....that one?

Please, try again" - the Ultimate Warrior.

How about ... "With no improvement in the current account deficit, the external debt of the United States will rise from 24% of total U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of 2003 to 64% by 2014."

http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/Issuebrief203

Steve,
Therein lies your problem, for the rest of us if we want money we work for it, it would never occur to us to “ask people” for it.
The National Debt isn’t like your credit card debt; it is a moving target based on the amount of bonds outstanding, the demand for payment on those bonds and the ability of the government to facilitate payments. Because the debt is incurred by the US, the debt holders are mostly in the US the debt is what it is and will always be as such.
What do you think would happen if we paid off those bonds? Answer, they’d still be a debt just in different hands.
In creating the jobs available, and paying ever higher wages in an expanding economy is why it is not a debt our children will pay; they will buy and sell their own debt.

MF,
No, your source makes one critical mistake in his reasoning, to quote; "But economic policy makers cannot bank on these low rates forever, and within the next decade the economic consequences of rising U.S. external debt obligations will constitute a massive loss by American households of claims to future income generated by the capital stock of the United States.”
Historically this has not come to fruition, Foreign ownership of our debt has remained constant since the 1980’s plus, it ignores the trends in the economy.
The growing economy has resulted in lower than anticipated interest rates and as such the interest payments have been accelerated.
Foreign loans are part of the trade market, and (lecture for another day) a trade deficit is not a debt, not in any sense of the word.

Maf

Answer the guy's question....he is right. As a percentage of GDP, this deficit is nowhere near what it was under FDR (over 14%) or Kennedy or Reagan.

It's large in terms of dollars, but even based on adjusted dollars for inflation it's not the largest...not even close.

Why are you guys on the left so gloom and doom all the time.

Steve-

Classic that you would say that this administration isn't trying to solve them. What do you think the tax cuts were? They were an instrument that WORKED to solve many economic problems. What do you think removing Saddam Hussein was? It was to remove a crazy dictator that used WMD before and could use them again. Those are ACTIONS.

I have to laugh at your statement when your boy previously and Carter before him basically hope and prayed that nothing bad would happen....hope is not a strategy!

In 2002 EPI also predicted unemployment would rise past 6.5% in 2003, and that wages would be depressed, and family earnings would drop by 9.3%.
In fact, none of these things happened the way they predicted; unemployment dropped below 5.7%, real wages went up and family earnings increased in 2003 and beyond. Check out bls.gov

I don't think I'd use the EPI as my crystal ball.

But, decide for yourself, here's some of the hysterical headlines published by EPI in 1995;
“Economy up, wages down
Sluggish private job growth indicates failure of tax cuts
Recent job gains lag far behind historical norms
The slack in the labor market has taken a toll on pay gains.”

All these preposterous contentions are based on “Author’s interpretation of BLS Statistics” (emphasis added)
According to the BLS, none of these assertions are correct. Check them out for yourself.

And here’s my personal favorite;
“Federal spending, not tax cuts, are responsible for the jobs that have been created”
That's just too funny for words. John Maynard Keynes would be proud of these jokers.

Because the debt is incurred by the US, the debt holders are mostly in the US the debt is what it is and will always be as such.
What do you think would happen if we paid off those bonds? Answer, they’d still be a debt just in different hands. - Bane

Gloriously ignorant are you Bane

-these are at will comments: say what you say
but i have seen maybe more
real life then you
facts are facts so what do you do with them
facts don't make change people do

this is what is worng. you all talk bad about each other and don't come togeather to come up with the best idea. Yes, some poeple have jobs and a lot don't.if you come from money and have everything you need you might have a better chance what about the people that get stuck in "the trap". just because people don't have does that mean that they can't be as smart or have great ideas. a lot of people have great business ideas to start new jobs but can't get the back that they need. so what do they do try try try...
what do you have to put up ....... what do you do?
go and do somting else until you have and how long does that take, with bills and life and gas what can you save if you don't get paid 40,000 to 100,000 a year. some of you may make that and still have problems. what do the have nots do. go the bank with what? they want money to get money.
if i had the money then why would i come to you.
The rich have ways to raise money to give to the people they fill matter. officials raise money to run for the office of their choice and spend millions doing so. how do they keep making money like that to spend but we have people with out jobs that may never see money like that. but money is passed around like that around the haves everyday. but we have so many with-out.

this is all for now but you will see more
but, as i said before
Say, what you say i've still seen more
Comments: from the mind of gPOWELL

Steve,
I'm a government budget analyst, what's your qualifications?

Bane

He stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and posts to DailyKos and DummyUnderground so he knows more than you.

LOL

Thanks, for a minute there I was beginning to think he might not know what he's talking about!

I'm not going to dignify the "claim" that you are a government budget analyst. Please.