Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra money?

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

We could have the debt paid down in 4 years. Cut spending and add a VAT of .25% on purchases, excluding real estate, financial instruments, clothes and food. Just imagine the collection from Amazon alone :lol:

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Pay down debt or give it back to the taxpayers.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Most of it should go to paying off the debt the rest should go to updating infrastructure.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

cpwill said:

Pay down debt. We might generate a surplus via growth in the next handful of years, but starting in the 2020s the entitlements are going to wipe us out, and every little bit better off we are when that happens helps.

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Paying down debt only works if we stop spending like drunken sailors and stop borrowing, which seems unlikely when we have two liberal parties in power. We cannot get back on our feet until someone in power understands fiscal responsibility.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

99percenter said:

Conservatives gave us the two most fiscally irresponsible presidents in reagan and bush. they have no right to talk about debt.

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Those aren't conservatives, the GOP is a liberal party today. There is no conservative party in America.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

radcen said:

Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra money?

1) Spend it on more stuff?
2) Lower taxes?
3) Put it toward the debt?

A real surplus, I mean, not a Bill Clinton smoke-and-mirrors surplus.

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BTW, if Clinton's surplus - which was real according to factcheck.org, and which lasted for four years, and for two years even if the Social Security tax was removed from the equation - was only "smoke and mirrors" as you say, then what how much do you believe the real deficit was at the time? Not the debt, now, but the deficit.

Oh, and to answer your question, pay down the debt. You may be surprised to find most liberals would agree on this.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Born Free said:

Liberals would never allow it to pay down the debt, liberals love more money for government, thus a surplus would never exist.

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And you're a wonderful example of the problem: you ASSUME (wrongly) that most liberals would not want to pay down the debt, just as most liberals ASSUME that most conservatives would not use to pay down the debt but would rather have tax cuts instead.

Let's stop assuming, shall we? Let's go on what actually happens instead.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Glen Contrarian said:

And you're a wonderful example of the problem: you ASSUME (wrongly) that most liberals would not want to pay down the debt, just as most liberals ASSUME that most conservatives would not use to pay down the debt but would rather have tax cuts instead.

Let's stop assuming, shall we? Let's go on what actually happens instead.

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What is actually happening is Obama has increased the national in 5.5 yrs by 7 trillion and is still borrowing 800 billion a yr. Under the liberal movement there is no future to even balance the budget to even give an opportunity to pay any debt. And I have not heard one democrat say they should cut anything, zip zero, nada.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Pay down the debt.
Pay down the debt.
Pay down the debt.
Pay down the debt.
Pay down the debt.
Pay down the debt.
Pay down the debt.
Pay down the debt.
Pay down the debt.
Pay down the debt.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

I'm sure that's what Hillary will do.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Born Free said:

What is actually happening is Obama has increased the national in 5.5 yrs by 7 trillion and is still borrowing 800 billion a yr. Under the liberal movement there is no future to even balance the budget to even give an opportunity to pay any debt. And I have not heard one democrat say they should cut anything, zip zero, nada.

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Really? Right now, the deficit for 2014 is estimated to be $492B - not $800B as you claim - and it is less than ONE-THIRD what it was in Bush's last budget (2009), which turned out to be $1539B (after adjusting for inflation).

There is a very real possibility that we might actually have a balanced budget by his last year in...which would be very bad news for the GOP indeed, since it would set the pattern: GOP screw up the budget, and Dems come in and fix it. If you'll recall, the last GOP president to have a balanced budget was Eisenhower - and the last two presidents who did have a balanced budget were Dems. Yeah, I know, you'll claim "They didn't balance it, it was all smoke-and-mirrors!" But even if the budgets weren't balanced, they were awful doggone close to being balanced...

...until the Republicans came back into office, of course. "Reagan proved deficits don't matter." Dick Cheney said that.

So...let me see here - Obama's cut the deficit by more than two-thirds what it was when he took over (in the middle of an economic meltdown), we've had 51 consecutive months of private-sector job growth, the growth of government spending is less than than what it's been under any president since Eisenhower (yes, less than Bush, Bush, Reagan, or Nixon), our personal federal tax burden is lower than at any time since Truman...and the Dow is over 2.5 times what it was since its nadir two months after Obama took office and - if it keeps trending like it has for the past two years, could very well hit the 3X mark by the time he leaves office. Have fun finding another president (except for maybe FDR) under whom the Dow tripled on his watch.

In other words, if Obama had an (R) behind his name, y'all would be campaigning to get his face added to Mount Rushmore. But he's got that (D), therefore anything he does is badevilterriblestupidsocialistcommunistnazibleedingheartliberalbad.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

radcen said:

Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra money?

1) Spend it on more stuff?
2) Lower taxes?
3) Put it toward the debt?

A real surplus, I mean, not a Bill Clinton smoke-and-mirrors surplus.

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This question reminds me of people who have a lot of credit card debt and they go to the bank and get a consolidation loan or second mortgage and when it's done they come out with this warped idea that all their debt is gone because the credit cards are paid off and there's just this one payment that they don't have to think much about. And in no time, they have a consolidation loan or second mortgage and a bunch of credit card debt to go with it.

I'm a firm believer that those who run for public office and run government are the same ones who get into the above type of traps.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

I would build a lot of schools and hire a lot of teachers. The one thing that is consistently proven to improve performance by students is smaller classes and more individual attention. We need a better student to teacher ratio, which means more classrooms and more teachers.

We need long term solutions, not short term ones.

Cephus said:

Those aren't conservatives, the GOP is a liberal party today. There is no conservative party in America.

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We have two corporate crony parties. Liberal and conservative refer to a lot more than adherence to a "small government" ideal.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Glen Contrarian said:

And you're a wonderful example of the problem: you ASSUME (wrongly) that most liberals would not want to pay down the debt, just as most liberals ASSUME that most conservatives would not use to pay down the debt but would rather have tax cuts instead.

Let's stop assuming, shall we? Let's go on what actually happens instead.

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What actually happens is Democrats propose continuing 500bn deficits infinitely.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2015/assets/tables.pdf

As to the op.

1. Pay down the debt
2. cut taxes

Though its unlikley to happen seeing as how its gone the other way. Taxes are up, spending is up, debt is up. The deficit is only decreasing because spending has been frozen until this year. Now its going up again. The deficit is predicted to go up in 2016 consistently and be 1 trillion in 10 years, under the baseline. No surplus in sight.

http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/45229-UpdatedBudgetProjections_2.pdf

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Lowering taxes and removing oppressive toll roads would be my first suggestion. If we had to spend it, re-fund NASA.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

If we are in a state of budget surplus, the debt is already taking care of itself.
The service of the debt comes out of revenue, first.
People and countries hold bonds, which will mature, when they mature, and will be paid then.
As long as we are not adding to the debt, it is not a big deal.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Giant trampoline.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Jredbaron96 said:

Giant trampoline.

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Damn... why didn't I think of that.

I want to change my answer now...

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

jonny5 said:

What actually happens is Democrats propose continuing 500bn deficits infinitely.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2015/assets/tables.pdf

As to the op.

1. Pay down the debt
2. cut taxes

Though its unlikley to happen seeing as how its gone the other way. Taxes are up, spending is up, debt is up. The deficit is only decreasing because spending has been frozen until this year. Now its going up again. The deficit is predicted to go up in 2016 consistently and be 1 trillion in 10 years, under the baseline. No surplus in sight.

http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/45229-UpdatedBudgetProjections_2.pdf

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Y'all really should get a clue as to the REAL factors as to why we've got such a big deficit:



And the REAL factors as to why our debt keeps growing:



Yes, it's the UNFUNDED wars, the UNFUNDED tax cuts, the UNFUNDED Medicare Part D.

Y'all like to say that we oughta pay our bills...but y'all REFUSE to pony up the money to pay for those bills. We canNOT "cut our way to a surplus" - that's simplistic thinking - economies don't work that way, never have, never will.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Glen Contrarian said:

Y'all really should get a clue as to the REAL factors as to why we've got such a big deficit:

And the REAL factors as to why our debt keeps growing:


Yes, it's the UNFUNDED wars, the UNFUNDED tax cuts, the UNFUNDED Medicare Part D.

Y'all like to say that we oughta pay our bills...but y'all REFUSE to pony up the money to pay for those bills. We canNOT "cut our way to a surplus" - that's simplistic thinking - economies don't work that way, never have, never will.

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You mean the tax cuts democrats just voted to make permanent (except the ones on the rich)? The wars that are over? Medicare that democrats wont let anyone touch? I think you need a new chart. That one is out of date. How about this one?

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

So far, 84% say to pay down the debt.

In this day of Keynesian-madness/Krugmanomics free spending, that is surprising to me...and slightly encouraging.

Maybe the Mooching Bug has not infected as many people as I thought.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

DA60 said:

So far, 84% say to pay down the debt.

In this day of Keynesian-madness/Krugmanomics free spending, that is surprising to me...and slightly encouraging.

Maybe the Mooching Bug has not infected as many people as I thought.

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To be honest, I'm pleasantly surprised that it went this way, too. I expected the other two would get the most votes.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Glen Contrarian said:

Really? Right now, the deficit for 2014 is estimated to be $492B - not $800B as you claim - and it is less than ONE-THIRD what it was in Bush's last budget (2009), which turned out to be $1539B (after adjusting for inflation).

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:doh it was ONE-THIRD what it was in Bush's last budget. Geeeeee Obama increased our national debt over 7 trillion in just 5.5 yrs and you want to compare Obama's budget, there is no Obama budget never has been never will be. What a joke.

There is a very real possibility that we might actually have a balanced budget by his last year in...which would be very bad news for the GOP indeed, since it would set the pattern: GOP screw up the budget, and Dems come in and fix it. If you'll recall, the last GOP president to have a balanced budget was Eisenhower - and the last two presidents who did have a balanced budget were Dems. Yeah, I know, you'll claim "They didn't balance it, it was all smoke-and-mirrors!" But even if the budgets weren't balanced, they were awful doggone close to being balanced...

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In bold that is as far as I read. That is another joke.

...until the Republicans came back into office, of course. "Reagan proved deficits don't matter." Dick Cheney said that.

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Yes but Obama did, here is proof, yet that is just another lie by Obama. Is this idiot for real.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyLmru6no4U

So...let me see here - Obama's cut the deficit by more than two-thirds

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He cut is own borrowing and spending of over one Trillion a yr to 800 billion, you call that cutting the deficit. What a joke.

what it was when he took over (in the middle of an economic meltdown), we've had 51 consecutive months of private-sector job growth, the growth of government spending is less than than what it's been under any president since Eisenhower (yes, less than Bush, Bush, Reagan, or Nixon), our personal federal tax burden is lower than at any time since Truman...and the Dow is over 2.5 times what it was since its nadir two months after Obama took office and - if it keeps trending like it has for the past two years, could very well hit the 3X mark by the time he leaves office. Have fun finding another president (except for maybe FDR) under whom the Dow tripled on his watch.

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I will speak to the DOW first, yes praise Obama, I have to tell you I love the DOW, Obama poured 7 trillion into corporate America and I am one of the benefactors. However the middle class were left out, there are more on food stamps under Obama, the middle class are taking home less money under Obama, there are more black unemployed under Obama, there are more poor people under Obama and under Obama we have on average a 1.5% GDP with employment not keeping up with the birth rate and you call this good? I must say I love how Obama pumped 7 trillion into corporate America. Remember the shovel ready, that was not shovel ready so he gave it to corporate America. I love it.

In other words, if Obama had an (R) behind his name, y'all would be campaigning to get his face added to Mount Rushmore. But he's got that (D), therefore anything he does is badevilterriblestupidsocialistcommunistnazibleedingheartliberalbad.

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In other words, Obama threw the middle class under the bus of the rich. If I was the middle class I would be furious and throw Obama under the bus.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

radcen said:

Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra money?

1) Spend it on more stuff?
2) Lower taxes?
3) Put it toward the debt?

A real surplus, I mean, not a Bill Clinton smoke-and-mirrors surplus.

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Well, let's see...you give 3 choices. Which one to choose?

I like the old "when digging a hole..." analogy, so let's look at these choices in that light, eh?

1. "Spend it on more stuff?" In other words, increase the speed in which we are digging. No thanks.

2. "Lower taxes?" In other words, turn that surplus into more of the dirt that we are shoveling into the hole...while we continue to dig. Uh-uh.

3. "Put it toward the debt?" Again...akin to trying to fill the hole as we keep on digging. A stop-gap measure at best. It might make some people feel good, but it's ultimately useless.

But the real problem with this poll is that there can be no realistic supposition that our government will ever stop digging. Not only does that negate the fundamental premise of this poll...that there will be some kind of surplus...but it makes clear that, until the government stops digging (spending money it doesn't have), the hole will only get deeper.

It might be just as well to give the money in this mythical surplus back to the citizens.

Re: Should we ever have a budget surplus again, what should we do with the extra mone

Paschendale said:

We have two corporate crony parties. Liberal and conservative refer to a lot more than adherence to a "small government" ideal.

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It's not just small government, it's fiscal responsibility, living within one's means and keeping the government out of the lives of the people, none of which the GOP has any interest in. In virtually every way, except for their radical religious views, the Republican Party is virtually identical to the Democrats.