Austerity for the masses is still in the air, like napalm in the morning. We've seen it happen in Europe and elsewhere and have wondered when it's really going to hit here at home. It's not like most American citizens haven't already been subjected to austerity measures but the big ones are still looming. The National Debt hasn't gone away and just keeps increasing. The Budget Deficit hasn't gone away. Those who want to make cuts to the Social Security program, Medicare and Medicaid programs and the Social Safety Net programs have not gone away. President Obama is or isn't for or against the cuts depending on what day it is and who you talk to. The Republicans have the bad cop act down pat. There is no good cop. Citizens United is in full effect now so who the hell knows what happens next but the budget numbers indicate the game is far from over.
Last summer we had the threats to shut down the federal government, not mail out Social Security and Veterans checks and basically completely disrupt American society because of the National Debt Limit Escapades presented by our Political Representatives Theatre Group. Then the Catfood Commission was created and we had a whole bunch of bullshit that ended in nothing. No change to the National Debt issue, no change to the Budget Deficit, and no change to the big "Entitlement" programs. No way is that the end of it. This summer we'll have more of the same.
All this happening while the U.S. oligarchy has embarked on the most ambitious project to rule the world by military and economic force in human history. Total budget expenditures for all national defense, national security, intelligence, related programs, and associated interest on the national debt is estimated at over $1.2 trillion per year. A figure almost identical to the national budget deficit. Fifty five million people on Social Security, 45 million on food stamps, and they want to rule the world. Needless to say, it ain't helping on the home front.
When I was a senior in high school in 1973, the federal government budget was $245 billion, the budget deficit was about $15 billion, and the national debt was $340 billion. Today the national budget exceeds $3.7 trillion, the budget deficit is over $1.1 trillion and the national debt is over $16 trillion (official debt limit).
During that time (39 years), the U.S. has maintained a significant budget deficit all but two years, 1999 and 2000. As a result the national debt has increased annually, passing $1 trillion in 1983, $2 trillion in 1988, $3 trillion in 1992, over $5 trillion by 2000, and continually increasing throughout the decade and beyond to the current authorized debt limit of $16.27 trillion. The debt has increased from about $9 trillion in 2008 to the current $15.87 trillion in early/mid 2012. That's almost $7 trillion in 5 years, more than the cumulative national debt since the founding of this country. It is a tiger uncaged. Another debt limit fight is on the horizon.
The current interest on the national debt, which is a mandatory spending item of the United States Budget, is $223 billion per year and rising. By 2022, interest on the national debt will be approximately $1 trillion per year!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
What on earth can stop that? I don't even see how ANY proposed cuts to SS, Medicare, Medicaid and other programs will stop the debt train. Do they even think about where the train is going and whether it can be stopped? Do they care?
When reviewing President Obama's budget proposal for 2013 and the next decade projections, two things become very clear: the budget deficit will remain very large and the national debt will continue to massively increase. By 2020 the national debt will exceed $25 trillion. Something dramatic would have to happen for those two things to change, actually a number of dramatic things. The only way to pay down the debt is to not only to balance the budget, but start paying off the debt in addition to the interest as part of that balanced budget.
Can anyone explain to me how that is even possible? Ever?
Check out the main budget categories and outlay totals of the 2012 national budget, which can be broadly divided into six categories:
-Defense/Security - 868
-Non-Defense Departments - 450
-Social Security - 773
-Medicare/Medicaid - 723
-Other - 635
(majority Social Safety Net)
-Debt Interest - 223
Total Outlays - 3.8 trillion
According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the total Receipts are $2,590 trillion making the national budget deficit a whopping $1.127 trillion for 2012. Budget estimates by OMB for the next ten years show continued annual budget deficits ranging from $700 billion to $1.2 trillion.
It's even worse if you take Social Security out of the equation. Social Security is directly funded by personal taxes and interest on the SS trust funds. Therefore it plays no part in the budget deficit or the national debt. The same goes, partially, with Medicare. Medicare taxes are collected specifically for that program, however the program does operate in the red so there is an additional requirement for the government to fund the program and it does then add to the deficit and the national debt. Unemployment Insurance is a program under the "Other" budget category and directly funded by specific taxes. Take out these totals and the budget deficit is a much higher percentage of outlays versus receipts, i.e., much worse than we think.
The politicians can attack those programs all they want, but unless they flat out steal the taxes collected for those programs (ahem, SS Trust Fund excepted) and use them for other programs, it will do absolutely nothing to reduce the budget deficit or the national debt.
Now how is that budget going to be balanced and how is the national debt going to do anything but continue to rise and compound and become entirely ridiculous, if that isn't already the case?
Isn't that what it's all about, the austerity? Isn't it about debt? A DEBT THAT CAN NEVER BE PAID OFF and will increase ad infinitum?
Any person or any country can over-extend itself, spend more than it brings in, and the end result is debt, and interest on the debt. That's what all the austerity talk is about, how to reduce and pay back the debt . But the debt can't be reduced, it's mathematically impossible at this point. The debt is going to keep increasing and there doesn't appear to be any way of paying it back, zippo.
So they, the Powers that Be (TPTB) know that. That includes President Obama and the leadership of both political parties. They know that no matter what they do the rest of this year, next year, or the next decade, the U.S. budget will maintain very large budget deficits, the national debt will keep increasing and that it is impossible to pay it off or stop it from increasing. The only way would be for the elite .01% to give up their riches and that won't happen. They can only bleed the masses for so much unless they completely dismantle everything.
So why all the bullshit about the budget deficit and the national debt?
It's conjecture, guessing, suppositioning. Who knows exactly what TPTB are up to and why exactly. The motivations have to vary. Maybe some are trying to get back to a balanced budget that has happened only two times in the last 40 years. Maybe some actually think the national debt can be paid off or at least stopped from increasing, kept under control. Maybe they're just putting off the hard decisions until the shit hits the fan. Maybe monkeys will fly out of my ass. When the debt piles up to $16 trillion, then $25 trillion, then who knows what, does the shit ever hit the fan? In the end it's always about power and money. Isn't that the thing with humans? Power to shape societies and human civilization. Money to do it. After all the yachts, castles, and islands, that's the next step. But ideology comes into play for something this big. That's the real battle. The national debt is the excuse.
But it's a great excuse. It will work unless the people fight back against the austerity measures that will take place because of it. And the bullshit National Debt that we owe to fucking who for fucking what? Something's got to give, the budget deficit is too large, the national debt is increasing faster and if that charade is going to be played out, major cuts and/or major tax increases have to be proposed and enacted, no matter the political party. Since defense and national security are off the table for both parties, and since tax increases on the rich have been taken care of by Citizens United, the plot for the next act in the play is easy to predict.
Much more Kabuki theatre ahead. This time the results can't be good.