Changleen
10-15-2004, 06:17 PM
American finances take another kick in the nuts from GWs policies:
Linky (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/339AE7B7-F750-412E-AEB0-7480F9B632B3.htm)
US President George Bush's administration has weathered a pre-election mauling by announcing emergency measures to skirt a $7.38-trillion debt limit.
Treasury Secretary John Snow said he would use pension money to keep the government running.
In a letter to US Senate majority leader Bill Frist on Thursday, Snow said he was immediately suspending payments to a federal employees' retirement scheme, the Government Securities Investment Fund (G-Fund).
The missing money would be repaid in full later, with no net effect on the fund or retirees, he promised.
The treasury secretary said he was forced to take the emergency accounting step because congress had not acted on his 2 August request for the government's legal debt limit to be raised.
Any move by congress to raise the debt limit could be politically embarrassing.
[snip]
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi described Snow's manoeuvre as "a shameful admission" that the administration's economic policies had failed the American people.
The overall US debt - the total accumulated financial liabilities of the country - now amounted to $7.38 trillion, she said.
"The Republican leadership knew that the debt limit would be reached this month but did not want an embarrassing vote on raising the debt ceiling until after next month's election so Republicans are now resorting to extraordinary accounting measures to avoid that vote."
In the year before Bush came to office, his predecessor Bill Clinton produced a $236-billion annual budget surplus.
In fiscal 2004, ended 30 September, Bush's team is estimated to have incurred a record annual budget deficit of $415 billion, according to the bipartisan congressional budget office.
Republicans - The Party of Small Government.
Time to raise those taxes?
Linky (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/339AE7B7-F750-412E-AEB0-7480F9B632B3.htm)
US President George Bush's administration has weathered a pre-election mauling by announcing emergency measures to skirt a $7.38-trillion debt limit.
Treasury Secretary John Snow said he would use pension money to keep the government running.
In a letter to US Senate majority leader Bill Frist on Thursday, Snow said he was immediately suspending payments to a federal employees' retirement scheme, the Government Securities Investment Fund (G-Fund).
The missing money would be repaid in full later, with no net effect on the fund or retirees, he promised.
The treasury secretary said he was forced to take the emergency accounting step because congress had not acted on his 2 August request for the government's legal debt limit to be raised.
Any move by congress to raise the debt limit could be politically embarrassing.
[snip]
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi described Snow's manoeuvre as "a shameful admission" that the administration's economic policies had failed the American people.
The overall US debt - the total accumulated financial liabilities of the country - now amounted to $7.38 trillion, she said.
"The Republican leadership knew that the debt limit would be reached this month but did not want an embarrassing vote on raising the debt ceiling until after next month's election so Republicans are now resorting to extraordinary accounting measures to avoid that vote."
In the year before Bush came to office, his predecessor Bill Clinton produced a $236-billion annual budget surplus.
In fiscal 2004, ended 30 September, Bush's team is estimated to have incurred a record annual budget deficit of $415 billion, according to the bipartisan congressional budget office.
Republicans - The Party of Small Government.
Time to raise those taxes?