2025 Deficit comes in at 1.97 Trillion. This Is Way Out of Hand

[HikerGuy83]

Yep, and look at what happened to DOGE--- democrats killed it.

I didn't follow it that close.

I really never heard anything "earth shattering" come out of it though". Did I miss something?

Sure, Trump spends money, but it money for stuff we need.

Democrats too. We have systematic costs built in. SS/Medicare/Defense/Interest.

But NEITHER SIDE IN CONGRESS seems to care. They are spending our childrens future because they don't have the balls to tackle tough issues.

If Trump is really buying stuff "we need" and we are in a deficit, then we need to raise taxes. End of discussion.

All they care about is trying to defund DHS and ICE.

That's just eyewash. They've never cared about fiscal issues (the left....Bernie Sanders wants to print more money and believes we can print as much as we want and interest rates WON"T GO UP....moron).

I expect better, much better from the GOP. Johnson and Thune are worthless.

Gotta keep those illegal voters here to win elections.

If Vance could get a cogent plan together and sell it, it won't matter.

And BTW: Yes, I want illegals.....ALL OF THEM....gone.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Up taxes across the board. One example -

A $1 per gallon tax on gasoline in the United States would raise approximately $130 billion to $140 billion annually, based on current consumption levels..

 

[HikerGuy83]

Up taxes across the board. One example -

A $1 per gallon tax on gasoline in the United States would raise approximately $130 billion to $140 billion annually, based on current consumption levels..

That is 1/10 the current deficit.

What would the affect be on the economy if you did this. We are doing it now (because of the war) and people are heading to the diarrhea ward in droves.

 

[Captain Caveman]

That is 1/10 the current deficit.

What would the affect be on the economy if you did this. We are doing it now (because of the war) and people are heading to the diarrhea ward in droves.

Like I said ACROSS THE BOARD, so look at all taxes, I gave an example of one.

Why do Americans cry over the deficit and National debt, then cry at solutions to reduce it

Don't tell me, Yanks want a magical formula that doesn't cost them!!!! Lol.

 

[HikerGuy83]

Like I said ACROSS THE BOARD, so look at all taxes, I gave an example of one.

Why do Americans cry over the deficit and National debt, then cry at solutions to reduce it

Oh....you'll see that I am quite in favor of raising taxes. Once we get a balanced budget amendment and some other guarantees on what we won't spend money on.

I don't like it.

I don't want it.

But I have to many friends who lived on credit cards until the limits were hit....then crashed.

We are going to have to modify S.S. and means test the rich off. Additionally, they are going to have to pay more.....but I am never in favor of just taxing them. If we hit them, we hit everyone.

I grow so tired of the "afford" criteria.

You want to "afford" more...do more.

 

[Conservative from Georgia]

So, what are you going to do about it?

The hypocrites who pretended to care about the deficit when Democrats were in power now say “meh. You do something about it, ordinary guy. And leave my cult leader alone “.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Oh....you'll see that I am quite in favor of raising taxes. Once we get a balanced budget amendment and some other guarantees on what we won't spend money on.

I don't like it.

I don't want it.

But I have to many friends who lived on credit cards until the limits were hit....then crashed.

We are going to have to modify S.S. and means test the rich off. Additionally, they are going to have to pay more.....but I am never in favor of just taxing them. If we hit them, we hit everyone.

I grow so tired of the "afford" criteria.

You want to "afford" more...do more.

Three options for government -

1) Raise taxes

2) Reduce spending

3) A bit of both

 

[PubliusMM]

There is no plan that I am aware of (that is a real plan).

We are totally screwed when it comes to the deficit, given that we are now paying so much in interest.

The projections for the debt make me want to jump off a cliff (of course I'll be taking Dante and other left wing idiots with me

If it were up to me.

1. Raise medicare tax to match spending.
2. Means test the rich with regards to S.S. benefits
3. Stop COLA on SS until it is balanced out.

That would be year one.

That's funny, right there. That you think your three proposals will impact, in any meaningful way, the deficit. And, leave SS alone.
Better: Consitutional Amendment to force a balanced budget.
Implement Zero-Based budget and scrap the current fund based model.
Suspend all Congressional pay (including staff) anytime the budget remains unbalanced longer than one year.
Term limits for Congress (two terms for Senators, four terms for House Reps).

 

[HikerGuy83]

That's funny, right there.

You look new here.

This isn't the right way to start a post if you want a serious conversation.

I will set this aside for now.

That was posted six months ago. It certainly was not a complete post.

That you think your three proposals will impact, in any meaningful way, the deficit.

You are right in that I don't have numbers posted. I recalled seeing some things.....which I should have put up. A term, like "meaningful" isn't very meaningful. It would be better to say...it would reduce the deficit by X. I didn't do that either.

And, leave SS alone.

I said means test people off of it. Right now, the system is in deficit spending with the so-called "trust fund" to hit zero by 2033. Slowing that down will help. My biggest concern is that we won't reduce benefits like we should when it dries out. We'll borrow and that will only further swell the deficit and push us over the edge that much faster.

Better: Consitutional Amendment to force a balanced budget.

To God's ears from your keyboard. May it be so. I don't see a lot of momentum in that direction. I have started looking for advocacy groups to join (special interest if I can use that term...focused on just this....a zero deficit budget).

Are you aware of any? I just started looking.

Implement Zero-Based budget and scrap the current fund based model.

The term fund-based model will take me some time to learn.

I assume a zero based budged means you only spend what you get. If there is a more specific definition...please share. If that is what it is....I am all in.

Suspend all Congressional pay (including staff) anytime the budget remains unbalanced longer than one year.

Agreed.

Review all federal salaries. They are bloated. There is a reason Norther Va is so miserably expensive to live in.

And when the budget starts to "wonder" have cost cutting requirements in place. One of the first....reduce federal salaries by up to 10%.

Term limits for Congress (two terms for Senators, four terms for House Reps).

To me this is a completely different conversation.

Help me understand how you think this will help with the deficit.

Again, I enjoy a good conversation with someone who wants to share thoughts and ideas.

You will see me flaming many on the left because they have no thoughts and all their "ideas" (which are really George Soros ideas) are BAD.

I have about 50 people on ignore and should probably put 50 more there.

Would love to continue the conversation.

Right now, I am trying to just understand where the numbers are coming from. I will reference that in another thread and link it to this one.

 

[task0778]

Three options for government -

1) Raise taxes

2) Reduce spending

3) A bit of both

Coupla things: when you raise taxes on gas by $1/gal, you do not get a linear response. People will drive less and pay more for food and everything else that is trucked or flown somewhere. Less air travel as the airlines charge more per ticket, and fewer vacays to grandma's house. IOW, you ain't going to get your expected increase in revenue and you're going to hurt the economy.

You know what happens when you give the gov't more money? They find ways to spend it so they can get re-elected. IMHO, it des no good at all to raise taxes until the gov't reduces/constrains spending. Then you can talk about tax hikes. We learned that lesson back in the 80s when the democrats promised Reagan they would cut spending if he let them raise taxes. They lied.

 

[HikerGuy83]

Three options for government -

1) Raise taxes

2) Reduce spending

3) A bit of both

Thank you Captain Obvio.....er Caveman.

 

[Hafar1014]

The deficit was 2.6 trillion when Trump took over. Its down

 

[HikerGuy83]

The deficit was 2.6 trillion when Trump took over. Its down

Where did you get that number?

Seriously, I can't figure out what the real number is......nobody is consistent.

 

[Hafar1014]

The U.S. federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2025 is estimated to be approximately $1.8 trillion, marking a slight decrease (around 2%) from the $1.83 trillion recorded in 2024, yet remaining high due to rising interest costs and mandatory spending. Revenues increased, driven by higher individual income taxes and tariffs, but were offset by high outlays.

Bipartisan Policy Center +2

 

[Captain Caveman]

Coupla things: when you raise taxes on gas by $1/gal, you do not get a linear response. People will drive less and pay more for food and everything else that is trucked or flown somewhere. Less air travel as the airlines charge more per ticket, and fewer vacays to grandma's house. IOW, you ain't going to get your expected increase in revenue and you're going to hurt the economy.

You know what happens when you give the gov't more money? They find ways to spend it so they can get re-elected. IMHO, it des no good at all to raise taxes until the gov't reduces/constrains spending. Then you can talk about tax hikes. We learned that lesson back in the 80s when the democrats promised Reagan they would cut spending if he let them raise taxes. They lied.

I'll condense that, a bit of both.

 

[PubliusMM]

You look new here.

This isn't the right way to start a post if you want a serious conversation.

I will set this aside for now.

That was posted six months ago. It certainly was not a complete post.


You are right in that I don't have numbers posted. I recalled seeing some things.....which I should have put up. A term, like "meaningful" isn't very meaningful. It would be better to say...it would reduce the deficit by X. I didn't do that either.


I said means test people off of it. Right now, the system is in deficit spending with the so-called "trust fund" to hit zero by 2033. Slowing that down will help. My biggest concern is that we won't reduce benefits like we should when it dries out. We'll borrow and that will only further swell the deficit and push us over the edge that much faster.

To God's ears from your keyboard. May it be so. I don't see a lot of momentum in that direction. I have started looking for advocacy groups to join (special interest if I can use that term...focused on just this....a zero deficit budget).

Are you aware of any? I just started looking.


The term fund-based model will take me some time to learn.

I assume a zero based budged means you only spend what you get. If there is a more specific definition...please share. If that is what it is....I am all in.


Agreed.

Review all federal salaries. They are bloated. There is a reason Norther Va is so miserably expensive to live in.

And when the budget starts to "wonder" have cost cutting requirements in place. One of the first....reduce federal salaries by up to 10%.


To me this is a completely different conversation.

Help me understand how you think this will help with the deficit.

Again, I enjoy a good conversation with someone who wants to share thoughts and ideas.

You will see me flaming many on the left because they have no thoughts and all their "ideas" (which are really George Soros ideas) are BAD.

I have about 50 people on ignore and should probably put 50 more there.

Would love to continue the conversation.

Right now, I am trying to just understand where the numbers are coming from. I will reference that in another thread and link it to this one.

Let's start at the top... Your condescending comment does not grant you any degree of advanced intelligence. Everyone was 'new' at one point, even you. And, you can stuff that notion of 'no way to start a post'. I started nothing. I responded to an existing post.
Zero-based budgeting means you start new budgets always at zero, never at prior period levels. It means every line item must be reviewed and (freshly) justified for each budget period...no cash carryovers, no reliance on 'we've always done it that way'.
Term limits contribute to fiscal prudence by assuring no long-term dependence on sources of donations, no good-ole-boys network (or less of it, anyway). Apart from that, there is a lot to be said for refreshing the intellectual pool in FedGov from time to time.
As you note, I've not been here long. I've spent a lot of time on other boards, though. And, I must say the level of pomposity and arrogance on this board is far above most any other board I frequent. I'm sure I'll learn the players soon enough, but it's always fun to test the waters.
And, you have a great day!

 

[AntonToo]

View attachment 1247609

And if that last bar is anywhere near true, Trump better have a commensurate drop in deficit. That is almost 600 Billion. If he was clever, he could get close to a surplus.

This may be our last best chance.

Look at those "Bidenomics is working" interest costs.

Silly, you've got you cause and effect reversed.

Interest rates are increased to reduce inflation. You know what Trump policies did to inflation? It INCREASED the infaltion and INCREASED the interest rate over what they otherwise would have been by now.

2026 Federal debt interest cost is projected at 1 Trillion.

 

[Hafar1014]

Silly, you've got you cause and effect reversed.

Interest rates are increased to reduce inflation. You know what Trump policies did to inflation? It INCREASED the infaltion and INCREASED the interest rate over what they otherwise would have been by now.

2026 Federal debt interest cost is projected at 1 Trillion.

That graph is hypothetical and means nothing. The deficit did drop under Trump

 

[kyzr]

Silly, you've got you cause and effect reversed.
Interest rates are increased to reduce inflation. You know what Trump policies did to inflation? It INCREASED the infaltion and INCREASED the interest rate over what they otherwise would have been by now.
2026 Federal debt interest cost is projected at 1 Trillion.

Your link uses a very big "assumption" that will probably not happen, but if it does we are toast, namely...
If interest rates are 1% above projections for a decade...unlikely under Kevin Warsh.

1% Higher Interest Rates Add $3.5 Trillion in Debt | Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

2026-04-22-Interest costs will exceed

www.crfb.org

"For example, if interest rates were remain above projections this year and be 1.0 percentage point above projections through the decade – bringing the 10-year Treasury note from an average 4.3% over the decade to 5.3% – it would add an additional $3.5 trillion to the debt above projections. By 2036, interest costs would total $2.7 trillion – nearly 6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Debt held by the public would rise close to 128% of GDP, compared to 120% under current law projections."

I'm not ready for "the sky is falling" scenario just yet.

 

[kyzr]

That graph is hypothetical and means nothing. The deficit did drop under Trump

I'm not saying that just yet, since Trump just requested a $1.5T defense budget for 2027, and has to pay back his "illegal" tariffs.