#deficit financing

[bitchesgetriches]

Learn more from our newest video essay.

[autumngracy]

WATCH: GOP Rep. Schweikert urges Congress to avoid 'financial armageddon'

GOP Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona criticized Republican plans for the national debt and spending cuts on the House floor Friday, urging Congress to avoid a "financial armageddon."

In a passionate speech, Schweikert emphasized the difficulty of cutting federal spending and that current plans to go after certain programs that are oft discussed by members of his party aren't going to change the financial landscape as much as promised.

"If you get rid of the Department of Education salaries ... you just covered nine hours of borrowing," he said.

He also added that eliminating foreign aid would only cover a week of borrowing. "Am I starting to make a point on the scale of what we have to actually tell the truth and deal with," he asked. 

This is against the landscape that President Donald Trump has centered federal spending in the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by Elon Musk.

[bankaizen]

work wants us to do an mbti test for our upcoming retreat..... i cannot express just how useless and a waste of money this will be

[eaglesnick]

“Things come apart so easily when they have been held together with lies." -  Dorothy Allison

“Five ways to fix the £40bn hole in UK’s public finances.” (FT: 18/10/22)

“Fast-rising borrowing costs putting UK public finances at greater risk, warns OBR.” (Guardian: 13/07/23)

“Britain’s debt timebomb is about to explode – and politicians are too timid to defuse it.” (The Telegraph: 09/12/23)

“The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggested some government departments could see cuts of between £10bn and £20bn – something Labour was reluctant to engage with during the election campaign." (BBC News: 27/07/24)

Given that the above news outlets – along with many others – have been telling us about the hole in UK public sector finances for at least  2 years why does it seem to have come as a great shock to Rachel Reeves?

“Chancellor Rachel Reeves said there was a £22 billion black hole in the public finances as she accused the Tories of covering up the scale of the problems.” (Northwich & Winsford Guardian: 29/07/24)

Either Rachel Reeves does not read official financial reports (in which case why is she Chancellor of the Exchequer) - or she is simply lying. I suspect the latter. This is what fullfact.org had to say:

“The IFS says many of the challenges Labour outlined this week were “entirely predictable”, and during the election campaign the think tank said that a new government would likely see a shortfall of £10-£20 billion by 2028/29.” (30/07/24)

How disappointing that Starmer’s Labour Government has the same relationship with the truth as the Tories - utter distain! 

[usindistress]

Except it is even more egregious, because you paid the pizza guy in your currency. Therefore the pizza guy is now interested in the currency they hold retaining its value. And because you are such a stable, reliable customer, the pizza guy will now go to you to get money just for the purposes of getting other customers who are not as reliable to pay with your money instead of theirs. And this further stabilizes the value of the money you print against other people printing their own money.

[rebuiltzine]

OP-ED: The Vanishing Surplus — How Wes Moore Let Maryland’s Budget Fall Off a Cliff

Not long ago, Maryland’s finances were the envy of the region. Former Governor Larry Hogan, despite fierce opposition from a Democratic-controlled legislature, managed to keep the state’s fiscal house in order—holding the line on taxes, building a surplus, and maintaining Maryland’s AAA bond rating. His administration’s approach was simple: balance the books, spend wisely, and resist the urge to…

[notayesmanseconomics]

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces bad news on the public finances and economic growth

This morning has brought news that brings several of our themes into play. For some time now I have been pointing out that the Western democracies have become fiscally spendthrift and addicted to deficits. The additional nuance came post Covid as one might think that there would be some retrenchment after the Helicopter Money splurge that was supposed to be a one-off. But instead governments…

[pier-carlo-universe]

Dazi USA, crollo dei mercati e rischi per le filiere globali. Ubaldo Livolsi analizza la crisi e invita UE e Italia a puntare su Asia, Africa e storytelling del Made in Italy. Scopri di più su Alessandria today.

[bitchesgetriches]

Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying: Finance Philosophy Explained by The Shawshank Redemption 

The Shawshank Redemption as an extended metaphor for the deficit prison you're trapped in? It's more likely than you think.

Did we just help you out? Say thanks on Patreon!

[alexanderrogge]

Babylon Bee - Republicans Clarify That Deficit Spending Only A Problem When Democrats Do It:

ProfligateSpending #DeficitSpending #Deficit #Spending #FederalBudget #Budget #NationalDebt #Debt #Bankruptcy #BlameGame #Hypocrisy #Finance #Humor

[insightfultake]

India's Rising Climate Vulnerability: A Call for Urgent Action

India has emerged as one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, ranking sixth in the Climate Risk Index 2025 published by Germanwatch. Between 1993 and 2022, the country accounted for 10% of global fatalities caused by extreme weather events and 4.3% of total economic damages worldwide. These staggering figures highlight the urgent need for robust climate resilience strategies and policy interventions to mitigate future risks. 

Expand to read more

[financeprozone]

Massive £3.5K Tax Hike Looms for UK! Shocking IFS Report!

UK households are bracing for a substantial tax hike, with an average increase of £3,500 per year anticipated by the next election, marking the most significant fiscal burden over a parliamentary term in over seven decades, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the country’s foremost economic think tank.

For more visit: financeprozone.com -

[techandtravel]

Reducing Debt: Minimizing Financial Burdens

Reducing Debt Debt can make it hard to manage your money and achieve financial stability. To reduce your debt, start by making a plan. Figure out which debts to pay off first based on their interest rates and amounts owed. You can choose to focus on paying off smaller debts first or tackling debts with higher interest rates. Avoid taking on new debt while you’re paying off existing ones. You can…

[dostoyevsky-official]

Then there is the dollar. Trump’s team considers it very overvalued. Scott Bessent, Treasury secretary nominee, told the Manhattan Institute this summer that “in the next few years . . . we are going to have to have some kind of a grand global economic reordering, something on the equivalent of a new Bretton Woods”. Indeed, Takatoshi Ito, Japan’s former finance minister, notes that “some observers, including myself, speculate that . . . Bessent might even call for a special G20 meeting” to reproduce “the 1985 Plaza Accord”. However, Bessent also told the same Manhattan Institute meeting that two-thirds of any tariff impact typically shows up through currency gains — implying that tariffs will strengthen the dollar. Most economists agree. Go figure. This creates a fourth uncertainty around the trade deficit. Trump’s team tell me they explicitly reject the economic orthodoxy inspired by the 19th-century economist David Ricardo — specifically, the idea that countries export goods to earn money to pay for imports, and if each country specialises in areas of comparative advantage, everyone is better off. Instead, Trump’s advisers want to slash the deficit by using America’s political and commercial dominance (via tariffs), while also maintaining capital inflows. Doing both may be hard. And any dollar strength could suck in more, not fewer, imports, particularly if growth accelerates.

December 13, 2024