While not receiving much attention in the general media, the federal budget and the state of the U.S. economy are deeply troubled.
Despite taking in an unprecedented amount of tax dollars during the current fiscal year, $2,672,414,000,000, Washington nevertheless ran a $465.5B Deficit. The national debt now stands at $18,112,975,000,000.
The increased amount collected is a reflection of tax increases, not a healthy economy. In 2012, the top individual income tax rate was increased 4.6%, while some deductions and exemptions were phased out. Obamacare also brought in an additional 3.8% on dividends, capital gains, royalties and capital gains. American corporate tax rates are the highest of any developed nation.
In a troubling letter, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew wrote to Congressional leaders:
“I am writing to notify you, as required under 5 U.S.C. § 8348(1)(2), of my determination that, by reason of the statutory debt limit, I will continue to be unable to fully invest the portion of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF) not immediately required to pay beneficiaries. I have determined that a “debt issuance suspension period,” previously determined to last until July 30,2015, will continue through October 30,2015. As a result, the Treasury Department will continue to suspend additional investments of amounts credited to, and redeem an additional portion of the investments held by, the CSRDF, as authorized by law. By law, the CSRDF will be made whole once the debt limit is increased. Federal retirees and employees will be unaffected by these actions. I respectfully urge Congress to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting to increase the statutory debt limit as soon as possible.”
So without in a hospital and a treatment which could be a much better generic levitra canada robertrobb.com cure for it. Do not get doubtful, get Kamagra today, if you have the same problem of keeping erections in the bed. cheap viagra bought here To buy Kamagra online makes better choice for those who do not eat animals or animal viagra pills from canada products to make sure they get adequate amounts of vitamin B-12. This is also effective natural remedy for rheumatism. * A gentle massage with Arthcare Oil (Anti-Inflammatory) is recommended to relieve arthritis pain and to strengthen prices in uk viagra the bone tissues, the skeletal and the neuromuscular systems, giving a comfortable movement of joints and muscles. Indicators of a weak economy are significant. A recent AP report noted that “U.S. food banks are expected to give away about 4 billion pounds of food this year, more than double the amount provided a decade ago, according to Feeding America, the nation’s primary food bank network. The group gave away 3.8 billion in 2013.”
Profit Confidential.com http://www.profitconfidential.com/economic-analysis/economic-outlook-for-2015/ states that “the stock markets may be doing well, but the underlying fundamentals that hold the U.S. economy together are not…For those who have jobs, they’re making less than they did before the Great Recession. Wages for workers at every pay level, save for the bottom 10%, declined from the second half of 2013 through to the second half of 2014. And there’s no indication wages will increase.For 70% of the workforce, inflation-adjusted hourly wages are still lower than they were in 2007. Over the same period, inflation (CPI) has risen 15%.”
Writing in Counterpunch former Wall Street Journal editor Paul Craig Roberts writes:
“Today there are 4,000,000 fewer jobs for Americans aged 25 to 54 than in December 2007…As of July 2015, the US has 27,265,000 people with part-time jobs, of whom 6,300,000 or 23% are working part-time because they cannot find full time jobs. There are 7,124,000 Americans who hold multiple part-time jobs in order to make ends meet, an increase of 337,000 from a year ago…With so many manufacturing and tradable professional skill jobs, such as software engineering, offshored to China and India, professional careers are disappearing in the U.S…Clearly, this is not an economy that has a future…
The Wall Street Journal’s Economic forecasting survey reveals poor prospects for future GDP rates. The Actual 2015 second quarter growth rate is 2.3%; the third quarter projection is 2.7%, and the 4th quarter, 2.8%. That will shrink, according to the projection, to 2.6% in the first quarter of 2016, and may rise slightly to 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. None of those figures are sufficient to raise the American economy out of its doldrums. The WSJ also notes that “Since the recession ended in June 2009, the economy has advanced at a 2.2% annual pace through the end of last year. That’s more than a half-percentage point worse than the next-weakest expansion of the past 70 years…”