Is that all there is? Under which party did deficit increase as a percentage of GDP, and under which it dropped?
In an equation involving two variables A - B = C there are two knobs you can turn. If spending is so bad GOP has plenty of opportunities to cut it. As recently as two years ago both chambers of Congress and WH were under GOP control.
Did you even look at the control of Congress by year?
Have you looked at how much of the budget is mandatory vs discretionary spending?
I’m sure you’ve seen this misleading chart which shows military spending is a majority of government spending.
The irony that Democrats were crying about how irresponsible Trump was when he pulled troops from Syria. Then he negotiated a cease fire. Obama got a Nobel Peace prize for less.
It’s the mandatory spending that’s viewing like crazy, and there’s zero political will on either side to change it.
Taxes collected as a percent of GDP are within our historic norm.
That tells you higher marginal tax rates on the rich aren’t going to produce the tax income needed to close the budget gap. That’s the great lie that Democrats tell them middle class.
Here you came close to the truth. When the problem is on both sides I find it weird you keep just blaming one.
Who expanded Medicare to cover drug expenses?
American society is aging. What was the median age back in the 1950s compared to today? Social spending of course will rise, not to mention people’s expectations also went up over time. Another way to say both parties don’t have the will to so-called “fix” the spending problem, is to acknowledge citizens as a whole like and want those programs. In a democracy we need to honor their wishes and if you really care about the deficit you need to turn the only other knob available.
The issue is there’s zero political will to turn the other knob on the middle class. The data says the top 1% are paying a record share of total taxes collected. Despite cuts in tax rates, total taxes collected have increased. It’s happened every time we’ve cut rates.
The middle class pay effective income tax rates of 3-5%. Yet, there is only talk of making the top 1% pay more, and the proposals cover ~10% of the new spending Democrats want. They can’t have European style social programs without European middle class tax rates. Anything else is terrible math combined with outright lying to voters. Do people really want the benefits if they have to pay the taxes for them? Surveys how people’s opinions drastically change when asked about paying the taxes to fund programs they support.
Even social security and Medicare at progressive. Only people who make above the social security contribution limit pay enough to cover their benefits. The other 90% receive more than they pay which relies on growing the number of people paying or using income taxes to cover the shortage.
The people who want government to control spending are helpless and can only watch the money collected from them spend on items and activities they do not approve. It is like someone picking your wallet and the spending the money right in front of your eyes. Can you do anything? I do not know.
Both parties have failed miserably in controlling expenses. For a politician, it is easier to make a fool out of a person than to make the person wiser. And that is why politicians of the either party do not care. Most voters do not have insight to understand how they are fleeced. And for a large number of voters, this system (tax and spend) works because they are able to get from the system what they cannot earn themselves (or at least this is the delusion they live in). The politicians also benefit because they can grab the Lions share of the government spending for themselves, after sharing a small portion with their voters.
Analyst: Fed’s emergency cut was ‘psychologically important’, may herald negative rates
The downside is that the “saver class,” which consists mostly of senior citizens, “have been hit again” because of falling yields, the analyst stated. However, Valliere expects a “tremendous amount of refinancing.”
Is @pandeyathotmail a senior citizen? His worse nightmare is here, rate down 
, stocks down 
Where should he invest his cash? Trade madly like @Jil? Probably wiser to move to Austin 
and buy a few rentals for passive income.
Since rate is in a downtrend, why should I re-fi now? Shouldn’t I wait a few months for rates to fall further or even negative?
Fed is simply delaying the flush out of bad players from the system and preparing for the eventual market drop to be more dramatic. The fed is the biggest threat to Capitalism in America as far as I can see. I was recovering from flue and not paying attention to the market therefore no excessive in and out…
Running off balance sheet starting from May?
$95B/mo is pretty slow in reality compared to how quickly they built it. They added $3B in 6 months when covid hit. At that pace, it’d take 31 months to unwind the initial covid spike. They are moving at 1/5 the speed.
Need to ask? Obvious is 0.75% regardless of CPI and other macro figures. 0.75% bring fed rate to 2.5% which is the neutral rate for 2% inflation. Is a must to hit as quickly as possible. Play by ear after that, may be pause, may be more hikes, it depends. Ideal is pause + QT.
Just this week two fed members said they support 0.75% at the next meeting.
Did Powell overdoing it? Market has Fed fear fatigue. Too much fear becomes no fear.
Sep 8 CATO
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/08/economy/powell-monetary-policy-cato/index.html
“We need to act right now — forthrightly, strongly.”
Aug 26 Jackson Hole
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-26/read-fed-chair-jerome-powell-s-speech-at-jackson-hole-symposium#xj4y7vzkg
We are taking forceful and rapid steps to moderate demand so that it comes into better alignment with supply, and to keep inflation expectations anchored. We will keep at it until we are confident the job is done.
Jul 27 FOMC
“While another unusually large increase could be appropriate at our next meeting that is a decision that will depend on the data we get between now and then,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said.
There are rumbling that Fed might update terminal Fed rate from 4.5% to 6% during Sep Mtg Sep 20-21. If true, I have to eat crow since this would cause stock market to break below Jun 16 low.
Nope below 2018 levels. Terminal rare if 6% was 2 decades ago.
Yes, zero other variables have changed and everything happening is in a vacuum. Lol.
