Posts
Click to enlarge.
Let's zoom in.
Click to enlarge.
Let's zoom in even closer.
Click to enlarge.
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin Roosevelt.
Interstate Highway System
Construction was authorized by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, and the original portion was completed 35 years later.
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was an American spaceflight in which the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first ever to land on the Moon on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC.
Why do I bring it up? The federal government borrowed $9.6 trillion over the last decade. In theory, $9.6 trillion could have provided 24 million extra jobs at $40,000 per year for 10 years. One wonders what we could have built with all those workers.
24,000,000 x $40,000 x 10 = $9,600,000,000,000
The government borrowed $9.6 trillion and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.
Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Government Employees
7 comments:
I saw a chart of deficit spending vs. GDP growth. Peaked out in the 1950's, post WW2, at about 80 cents of GDP growth per every deficit dollar spent. Currently it's at around five cents though some will argue it's negative when interest payments are factored in.
Captured and corrupt politicians make deficit spending a very unwise decision.
Captured and corrupt politicians make deficit spending a very unwise decision.
I agree, the best alternative is to raise taxes to cover all this spending, $5.5T/yr., and that's not counting SS checks.
The WSJ had an article about Medicare, how it's $500B/yr now and growing 5% pa.
That's $4000 per worker. Takes a $120,000 salary to cover that via Medicare taxes, only about 5% of the population make that in wages.
If things are spectacularly good between now and 2026, we will add 2M jobs/year (the 1990s averaged 2.1M). But even so, 2026's $1.1T Medicare expense is going to be a $7000/worker burden.
So we're going to need to double the Medicare tax, and then some.
Social security, same story, we need to reverse the 2% FICA cut and make it a 2% FICA rise, to make the SSTF last through the baby boomer retirement as originally intended.
And what about our $1T+ fiscal deficit?
I think if you don't propose the cuts, you've got to propose the taxes to pay for it.
Me, I'd cut defense expenses in half over 10 years, from $800B to $400B/yr.
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/FDEFX
And I'd raise taxes on corporations +$500B/yr.
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CP
That with the higher FICA and Medicare taxes would just about cover it.
0% chance of this happening. Instead, set the controls for the heart of the sun, we're going in.
Fatboy & Troy,
Captured and corrupt politicians make deficit spending a very unwise decision.
Surely the camel's back can support a never ending supply of featherweight straw.
Trouble is the federal government did not borrow the $9.6 trillion to improve infrastrutue. They borrowed it to cover losses in income from tax reductions. And now when we really need the goverment to create jobs they can't do it.
Anonymous,
We lived on borrowed prosperity and we're finally starting to realize that it wasn't exactly a free lunch. Sigh.
Social security, same story, we need to reverse the 2% FICA cut and make it a 2% FICA rise, to make the SSTF last through the baby boomer retirement as originally intended.
Or, just remove the cap on SS contributions. Problem solved.
fried,
Unintended Consequence
1. Raise FICA.
2. Less net pay.
3. Less money spent at Sears and Radioshack.
On the other hand, the existing course is headed right for the Sears and Radioshack iceberg anyway.
Post a Comment