Deficit--Again!

You might guess from this being my second post on the topic (Deficit Spending by the U.S. Government) that it is a great concern of mine.

The U.S. Government in February 2011 posted the largest monthly deficit ever: 223 Billion dollars. That's in 28 days!

For additional perspective, consider that last year the U.S. Government paid (or maybe racked up would be a better way to state it) 207 Billion dollars on the National Debt. What will happen this year, with a significantly larger debt, and with interest rates set to rise from currently historic lows?

Compare February 2011's deficit ($223 Billion) to the entire 2007 Fiscal Year: $161 Billion.

Now, look at Congress, debating and going nowhere about the current fiscal year's budget (the previous House of Representatives proposed or voted on a budget before the most recent election so we're working off of a series of continuing resolutions). As things stand, the House of Representatives (controlled by the Republicans) propose roughly $60 Billion in cuts. The Senate (controlled by the Democrats) propose about $5 Billion in cuts, claiming the Republican cuts are too extreme. WHAT?

The 'proposed cuts' of the House Republicans (if implemented) would cover only about 25% of the February 2011 Deficit. The 'proposed cuts' of the Senate Democrats would equal about 2.2% of the February 2011 Deficit.

Is there a disconnect here? Isn't there a 'Run-away Spending Train' not only racing toward a cliff, but picking speed along the way? The whole time the 'political engineers' in charge are bickering about what minuscule fraction of resistance should be placed on the brakes.

The Gross National Debt

Note: When this blog article was posted, the debt totalled: $14,330,436,855,712
-