*~1Best~* Market Timing & Trend-Signals

[*~1Best~*]

re: Federal spending rising twice as fast as taxes

Bernanke is making another bubble. What's in his head?



Wealth transfer using bubbles & crashes

http://trend-signals.blogspot.com/2008/05/bubbles.html

It's greed monster.




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Federal spending rising twice as fast as taxes

By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
Last update: 3:21 p.m. EDT May 12, 2008

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Federal spending is rising more than twice as fast as receipts so far this fiscal year, reflecting the economic slump and the rising costs of the military and other government programs, the Treasury Department reported Monday.
The U.S. government took in a record $404 billion in revenue in April, up 5% from a year earlier, but outlays rose 19% to $244.5 billion, cutting the monthly surplus down to $159.3 billion, the Treasury Department reported Monday.

The surplus in April was close to the $160 billion estimated by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The surplus fell from $177.7 billion a year ago primarily because of a shift in the calendar, which affected the timing of some payments. The government also sent out $3.4 billion in tax-rebate checks as part of the economic stimulus program during the month.
Excluding the surplus in Social Security and Medicare, the on-budget surplus was $134 billion in April, compared with $155.2 billion last April.

For the first six months of the fiscal year, the total deficit of $152.2 billion jumped 88% from the $80.8 billion through the first six months of last fiscal year. The on-budget deficit increased 39% to $267.8 billion.

For all of fiscal 2008, the Bush administration expects a total deficit of $410 billion, and an on-budget deficit of $602 billion.

Reflecting the economic slowdown, total receipts are up 3% this year to $1.55 trillion, with individual income taxes rising 6% and corporate income taxes falling 15%. Withheld individual income taxes increased 6%, while non-withheld individual income taxes rose 7%.

Off-budget receipts, mostly payroll taxes, increased 4%.
Outlays through the first six months are up 7.4% to $1.7 trillion. Military spending has risen 10% after adjusting for calendar differences. Social Security benefits rose 5.5%. Spending on Medicare increased 2%. End of Story