Dont like debt caps

[Manonthestreet]

just ignore them like every other law you dont like........for progressive pols only.............
cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/15-weeks-treasury-says-debt-has-been-frozen-18112975000000
(CNSNews.com) - The portion of the federal debt that is subject to a legal limit set by Congress closed Friday, June 26, at $18,112,975,000,000, according to the latest Daily Treasury Statement, which was published at 4:00 p.m. on Monday.

That, according to the Treasury's statements, makes 15 straight weeks that the debt subject to the limit has been frozen at $18,112,975,000,000.

 

[Mad Scientist]

"Subject to the legal limit". So how much is not?

 

[waltky]

Almost one trillion in debt comes from improper payments...

Feds Made $124.7B in Improper Payments in 2014; ‘Almost $1 Trillion’ Over 12 Years
October 7, 2015 | The federal government made an estimated $124.7 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2014 and has made “almost $1 trillion” in improper payments over the past twelve years, U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, head of the Government Accountability Office, told the Senate Finance Committee last week.

“In fiscal year 2014, agencies reported improper payment estimates totaling $124.7 billion, a significant increase—almost $19 billion—from the prior year’s estimate of $105.8 billion,” Dodaro told the committee in written testimony. “The almost $19 billion increase was primarily due to the Medicare, Medicaid, and Earned Income Tax Credit programs, which account for over 75 percent of the government-wide improper payment estimate,” he said.

Improper payments can result from errors made by government officials and from fraud. “An improper payment is defined by statute as any payment that should not have been made or that was made in an incorrect amount (including overpayments and underpayments) under statutory, contractual, administrative, or other legally applicable requirements,” Dodaro explained in his written testimony. “Among other things, it includes payment to an ineligible recipient, payment for an ineligible good or service, and any duplicate payment.” “Improper payments have consistently been a government-wide issue despite efforts to reduce them and identify root causes, including fraud,” he said.

In 2002, Congress enacted the Improper Payments Information Act, which required some federal agencies to begin reporting on their improper payments in fiscal 2003. Congress followed that legislation with the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 and the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012. But the dollar amount of estimated improper payments has increased over the course of the 12 fiscal years it has been reported (2003 through 2014). In fiscal 2003, the government estimated that it made $35.0 billion in improper payments. By fiscal 2008, that had more than doubled to $72.5 billion. And, by fiscal 2014, according to Dodaro’s testimony it had almost doubled again to $124.7 billion.

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State Dept to Spend $49,083 to Create a Network to Support the LGBT Community in India
October 2, 2015 | The State Department is planning to spend $49,083 in taxpayer funds for a one-time grant to establish a network to support the LGBT community in India.

The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi is soliciting proposals for the grant titled, “Creating a Network to Support the LGBT Community in India,” which will create a “national network focused on LGBT issues in India.” The grant will pay for “leadership development programs for existing LGBT organizations with the goal of providing them the tools to establish capabilities to advance LGBT access to services available to all Indian citizens including health care and government public services.” The grant is intended to change the public perception of LGBT Indians.

It is designed to increase capacity of LGBT to take part in “organized, collaborative, networking efforts that will increase discourse between citizens and local officials about the needs of all citizens.” “Examples of similar efforts have included, a Transgender Board in the state of Tamil Nadu that examines ‘various problems faced by the community and to formulate and execute welfare schemes for the betterment’ of LGBT citizens,” the grant stated. As a result, the LGBT community will be “better able to promote dialogue with diverse stakeholders, such as faith leaders, local and national authorities, and others.”

The grant “was generated through a request for applications that was sent to all diplomatic posts,” a State Department official wrote in an emailed response to CNSNews.com’s request for comment. “It was awarded through the small grants program of the Global Equality Fund. “Founded in 2011, the Fund is a public-private partnership that provides support to civil society organizations working to promote and protect the human rights of LGBTI persons. Since its founding, the Fund has contributed over $20 million to support programs in over 50 countries, worldwide,” the State Department official added. The grant was announced on Aug. 10, 2015. The closing date for applications was Sept. 16, 2015.

State Dept to Spend $49,083 to Create a Network to Support the LGBT Community in India

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

yes debt caps are silly. I think we should wait till liberals run up debt to $40 trillion before we cap it. Moreover, American businesses and households are too uptight about debt in general and should be encouraged to ignore their total debt. Afterall, debt can be paid back some other time in the future.

 

[waltky]

Granny says if she had a couple million dollars - she'd keep it...

Anonymous donor gives $2.2 million to pay down national debt, Treasury says
November 22, 2015 | WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department received a record contribution of $2.2 million toward reducing the national debt in September, even as the government was running out of borrowed money as it approached the debt limit.

In all, donors contributed $2.3 million in the last month of the 2015 fiscal year, boosting the annual contributions for the year to $3.9 million, according to just-released data from the Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Treasury officials say September's haul was helped by a single $2.2 million payment, but would not provide any details on the source of the contribution.

A little-known account called the Public Debt Reduction Fund receives tax-deductible contributions from the public to pay down the national debt. Contributions to the account are sometimes as little as just a few cents, and come from online donations, contributions made through the Internal Revenue Service and hand-written checks to the Bureau of Public Debt in Parkersburg, W.Va. The biggest months for contributions to the fund are usually April and December.

The few millions collected through the fund barely put a dent in the national debt, which is now more than $18.6 trillion. And because the Treasury is running monthly deficits, the contributions don't really go to pay off debt. Instead, they're used to pay the expenses of the government instead of issuing new debt.

The previous monthly record for contributions to the fund was $2.1 million in April 2012. The Treasury Department said that month was also helped by a large donation from a single donor. And while officials would not disclose that donor, it came the same month that billionaire investor Warren Buffett had promised to match any similar gifts from members of Congress.

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As national debt soars, gifts to pay it off decline
December 20, 2013 - The Treasury gladly accepts tax-deductible donations to reduce the national debt.

Americans opened their checkbooks to give $1.8 million to the federal government over the past year — with no other purpose than to help pay off the national debt. Adjusted for inflation, those voluntary contributions were less than at any time since fiscal year 2005. And with the national debt now reaching $17 trillion, the donations amount to a down payment of only 0.00001%. At that rate, even if Congress stopped borrowing money, it would take 10 million years to pay off the debt through gifts alone.

Most contributions come in small amounts — some as little as $1. And some come in odd amounts, which officials suspect are the amounts of people's tax refunds they sent back to the government. But some members of Congress think the government isn't doing enough to make it easier for people to give money. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., has introduced a bill called the Voluntary Debt Reduction Act, which would allow people to make a payment or give up their refund on their tax form. "It shouldn't be as difficult as it is," Davis said. "Most people who are filing their taxes on their own don't know it's an option."

Instructions for how to make a contribution are on page 93 of the instructions for Form 1040, and require the taxpayer to write a separate check to the Bureau of the Public Debt. "There's no real systemic campaign by the government to let people know it's out there," said Richard Lavoie, a tax law professor at the University of Akron, in Ohio. "It's shameful." He noted behavioral research shows that people are more likely to give to a cause if they know others are doing it, too. The government did make contributions somewhat easier in 2012, establishing a page on Pay.gov to allow people to make direct debit and credit card donations instead of sending a check to the Bureau of the Public Debt in Parkersburg, W.Va.

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[EdwardBaiamonte]

liberals don't like debt caps so we have $18 trillion in debt!! Liberals are stupid!

 

[Freemason9]

just ignore them like every other law you dont like........for progressive pols only.............
cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/15-weeks-treasury-says-debt-has-been-frozen-18112975000000
(CNSNews.com) - The portion of the federal debt that is subject to a legal limit set by Congress closed Friday, June 26, at $18,112,975,000,000, according to the latest Daily Treasury Statement, which was published at 4:00 p.m. on Monday.

That, according to the Treasury's statements, makes 15 straight weeks that the debt subject to the limit has been frozen at $18,112,975,000,000.

Like it or not, the federal "debt" is at best an abstract concept that relates to the growth of the money supply and economic development. It is nothing at all like the debt you picture, and you certainly don't understand the concept.

 

[Manonthestreet]

just ignore them like every other law you dont like........for progressive pols only.............
cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/15-weeks-treasury-says-debt-has-been-frozen-18112975000000
(CNSNews.com) - The portion of the federal debt that is subject to a legal limit set by Congress closed Friday, June 26, at $18,112,975,000,000, according to the latest Daily Treasury Statement, which was published at 4:00 p.m. on Monday.

That, according to the Treasury's statements, makes 15 straight weeks that the debt subject to the limit has been frozen at $18,112,975,000,000.

Like it or not, the federal "debt" is at best an abstract concept that relates to the growth of the money supply and economic development. It is nothing at all like the debt you picture, and you certainly don't understand the concept.[/QUOTE


So...........do enlighten us.......

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

Like it or not, the federal "debt" is at best an abstract concept.

how on earth is $18 trillion an abstract concept????? Are the taxes we pay to service the debt an abstract concepts too?? See why we say liberalism is based in pure ignorance? IS any other conclusion possible??

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - all Obama's done is get us deeper in debt...

$8,314,529,850,339.07: Debt Up $70,612.91 Per Household in Obama’s First 7 Years
January 26, 2016 | $8,314,529,850,339.07 in President Barack Obama’s first seven years in office, according to official data published by the U.S. Treasury. That equals $70,612.91 in net federal borrowing for each of the 117,480,000 households that the Census Bureau estimates were in the United States as of September.

During President George W. Bush’s eight years in office, the federal debt increased by $4,899,100,310,608.44, according to the Treasury. That equaled $44,104.65 in net federal borrowing for each of the 111,079,000 households that, according to the Census Bureau, were in the country as of Jan. 20, 2009, the day that Bush left office and Obama assumed it.

In the fifteen years from the beginning of Bush’s first term to the end of Obama’s seventh year in office, the federal debt increased $13,213,630,160,947.51. That $13,213,630,160,947.51 increase in the debt during the Bush-Obama years equals $112,219.57 for each of the 117,748,000 households that were in the country as of September.

When Bush took office on Jan. 20, 2001, the federal debt was 5,727,776,738,304.64. When Obama took office eight years later, on Jan. 20, 2009, the federal debt was 10,626,877,048,913.08. As of Jan. 20, 2016, when Obama completed his seventh year in office, the federal debt was $18,941,406,899,252.15.

$8,314,529,850,339.07: Debt Up $70,612.91 Per Household in Obama’s First 7 Years