Landing the Big One

Landing the Big One

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

"Measures to Cut Budget Deficit Are All on the Table"

Clearly this headline is false: "Measures to Cut Budget Deficit Are All on the Table"
The deficit was $1.4 trillion in 2009; the Federal government owes $12.9 trillion now and is expected to add another $1 trillion to that figure every year for at least the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The interest alone on all that debt would eventually comprise 4.5 percent of the economy and 20 percent of the Federal budget.
I'll believe the headline when Congress announces the halt of ObamaCare, an end to TARP, the "stimulus package" and throws out the Department of Education and an number of other useless, expensive agencies.

You know cuts will come in Defense which is a true Constitutional mandate, as opposed to say, subsidizing ethanol, which clearly is not. As an example, and as reported here:
In 2008, the U.S. government spent $4 billion on biofuels subsidies, replacing about 2 percent of the U.S. gasoline supply, according to the Baker Institute report, "Fundamentals of a Sustainable U.S. Biofuels Policy." The average cost to the taxpayer was about $82 a barrel, or $1.95 a gallon.

In 2007, Congress mandated that biofuels production increase from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Corn ethanol is capped at 15 billion gallons a year, but the study says even that level will be difficult to reach.

The report also questions the tariff imposed on ethanol imported from Latin America and the Caribbean, mainly made from sugar cane. Because sustainable production of U.S. domestic corn-based ethanol faces limitations, the report finds "tariff policies that block cheaper imports are probably misguided."
And ethanol isn't even a "clean" fuel.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:12 AM

    The Budget Deficit group says that they will only use CBO projections for all programs (Medicare and Soc. Security included). Using CBO projections, Obamacare as you call it is a massive deficit reducer, so why throw it out.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous9:37 AM

    You know, you strike as a person who might just be interested in some lovely potentially ocean-front property I have for sale in New Mexico....

    ReplyDelete