NATIONAL DEBT INCREASES BY $1,054,647,941,626.91 IN 2016

NATIONAL DEBT INCREASES BY $1,054,647,941,626.91 IN 2016 

BY WARREN MASS

SEE: http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/commentary/item/24986-national-debt-increases-by-1-054-647-941-626-91-in-2016; 

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

Data posted on the Treasury Department’s website indicates that the federal government’s total public debt outstanding increased by $1,054,647,941,626.91 during 2016. Treasury’s online charts show that the federal debt was $18,922,179,009,420.89 on Dec. 31, 2015, the last business day of 2015. On Dec. 30, 2016, the last business day of 2016, it had increased to $19,976,826,951,047.80 — an increase of more than one trillion dollars.
A summary of this data compiled by CNSNews.com noted that the increase in the debt equaled $8,860.65 for each of the 119,026,000 households in the United States as of September, according to Census Bureau estimates.
Furthermore, in case anyone wants to place all of the blame for the debt increase on the Democrats, CNSNews noted that during 2016, while Democrat Barack Obama controlled the presidency, Republicans controlled both houses of Congress.
This is significant, since, according to the Constitution, all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House of Representatives (Article I, Section 7), and Congress shall have power to borrow money on the credit of the United States (Article I, Section 8).
Consequently, even the most profligate occupant of the Oval Office cannot spend a dime or borrow a dime unless Congress gives its approval.
As anyone who has studied even basic economics has learned, the public debt is the cumulative result of budget deficits; that is, government spending exceeding revenues.

If we look at the history of the national debt during the past 39 years, we may be surprised to find that our nation’s fiscal health — in terms of the size of the national debt — fared better under Democrats Carter and Clinton than under the ostensibly conservative Ronald Reagan and both presidents Bush, before escalating more rapidly under Democrat Obama.
An article posted by The New American in 2014 cited as authoritative a source as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which had released a report showing that although that year’s deficit would be much smaller than those of recent years, there was ominous news. The CBO report continued on to point out that “later in the coming decade … deficits [will] grow and federal debt [will] climb.” The national debt, according to the CBO, will be $27 trillion in 2024. We also noted:

The reason for the increasing deficits over time is simple: Government spending is projected to outpace the government’s revenues. Projected outlays for 2014 are estimated to be $3.5 trillion but increase to more than $4.1 trillion in just three years. By 2024, the CBO estimates that government spending will be close to $6 trillion a year and continuing to grow by nearly four percent annually thereafter. With the economy struggling to get back to three-percent annual growth, one can see that this is a race that the economy cannot win. With a national debt approaching $18 trillion, that translates into more than $200,000 of federal debt for every private-sector worker, according to Terence Jeffrey writing for CNS News.

The dire predictions made in 2014 are materializing. Back then, the national debt was approaching $18 trillion. As we saw, it reached almost $19 trillion by the end of 2015 and almost $20 trillion by the end of last year. We are now seven years away from 2024, and seven trillion dollars away from the ominous predicted debt target. With the increase in the national debt being more than one trillion dollars last year, that forecast looks to be right on the money.
Of course, the continued economic death march into hopeless debt need not continue, if our federal government can balance its budget through a combination of less spending and greater tax revenues as a result of policies that will stimulate business, generating higher profits and more corporate tax revenue. The great unknown is exactly what economic policies incoming President Donald Trump will put into place.
In an article posted last September, we discussed the potential effects of one of the economic solutions proposed by Trump — a massive cut in the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to just 15 percent. We predicted that Trump’s cut would invite companies holding cash abroad to seriously consider investing it in the United States, which would, in the words of Terry Jones in Investors Business Daily, “lead to an enormous jump in job creation — yes, Reagan-like job creation.”
When considering whether a cut in corporate tax rates by a full 20-percentage points would have much of an impact on our economy, a look at history is appropriate. As we noted in the aforementioned article:

During the John F. Kennedy administration, income tax rate cuts resuscitated a moribund economy, just as they did under Ronald Reagan. But history has failed to record adequately what happened when Bill Clinton cut the capital gains tax (remember Clinton-omics?) from 28 percent to 20 percent in the highest bracket, and from 15 percent to 10 percent in the lowest: real (inflation-adjusted) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person grew from $38,000 in 1994 to $45,000 in 2001. At the same time, the country’s national debt fell as a percent of output by a full 10 percentage points, from 66 percent to 56 percent.

If Clinton’s cut in the capital gains tax resulted in a 10-percent drop in the national debt, could Trump follow suit?
The key question is not so much if Trump can repeat Clinton’s success story, but if he will be willing and able to do so. This depends on two factors: One, he must follow though on his campaign promises and introduce the tax cuts, and two, members of Congress, including the Republican majority in both houses, must be cooperative and pass legislation putting these proposals into effect.
The annual trillion-dollar increase in the national debt must be stopped and reversed, or economic ruin will surely fall upon us by 2024.
Related articles:
Obama's Basket of Economic Deplorables
Candidates Silent as Government Spending Jumps, Deficit Increases
Would Trump’s Corporate Tax Cut Help the Economy?
National Debt to be $27 Trillion in 10 Years, Says the CBO

REPORT REVEALS V.A. SPENT MILLIONS ON ART & SCULPTURES WHILE VETERANS DIED AWAITING CARE~OBAMA SPENDS $100 MILLION EVERY HOUR OF EVERY DAY

REPORT REVEALS V.A. SPENT MILLIONS ON ART & SCULPTURES WHILE VETERANS 

DIED AWAITING CARE

BY RAVEN CLABOUGH

SEE: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/item/23748-report-reveals-va-spent-millions-on-art-while-veterans-died-awaiting-care; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

An oversight report by an independent taxpayer watchdog into the Veterans Affairs administration reveals more troubling information connected to the VA scandal, Fox News reports. According to the report's findings, the VA spent $20 million on artwork and sculptures and added nearly 40,000 new jobs, though just one in 11 were medical positions, all while more than a thousand veterans died awaiting medical care.

In 2014, the Veterans Administration became the subject of significant controversy after reports exposed that the Phoenix facility had been altering its scheduling books and that at least 40 veterans had died while awaiting care. Reports later revealed similar issues with lengthy waiting times in at least 10 states. Investigation into the Veterans Affairs wait-time scandal has revealed a number of startling revelations, including evidence of fraud and regulatory violations related to scheduling issues at over 50 VA medical facilities.

Multiple investigations ultimately found that more than 1,000 veterans have died while waiting to be seen by a doctor, and employees who dared to blow the whistle on conditions at the facilities have received retaliation while many of those responsible have virtually avoided punishment.

And just when it seems that the VA scandal has been fully explored and exposed, more disturbing revelations appear.

An oversight report by taxpayer watchdog group Open the Books and COX Media Washington, D.C., entitled “The VA Scandal Two Years Later,” reveals that while veterans had been waiting for care and facilities were altering its scheduling books to cover up the lengthy waiting lists, the VA was instead utilizing millions of dollars in financial resources to improve the artistic ambiance of its facilities, among other things.

The seven-page report is based on data obtained through Freedom of Information requests and examines the spending that took place at the VA during the same time period in which the VA has been accused of doctoring patient waiting times and allowing veterans to perish while they awaited care. The report reveals that an exorbitant amount of money was spent on artwork and sculptures, including at facilities wherein the patients were blind.

In an editorial for Forbes, Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO of Open the Books, draws attention to the report's findings:

In the now-infamous VA scandal of 2012-2015, the nation was appalled to learn that 1,000 veterans died while waiting to see a doctor. Tragically, many calls to the suicide assistance hotline were answered by voicemail. The health claim appeals process was known as "the hamster wheel" and the appointment books were cooked in seven of every ten clinics.

Yet, in the midst of these horrific failings the VA managed to spend $20 million on high-end art over the last ten years — with $16 million spent during the Obama years.

Items purchased by the VA included two sculptures costing $670,000, which were placed at the new Palo Alto Polytrauma and Blind Rehabilitation Center (shown).

“Blind veterans can’t see fancy sculptures, and all veterans would be happier if they could just see a doctor,” Andrzejewski opines.

The report primarily underscores that whatever the reason for the lengthy waiting times at VA facilities, it appears that it is not because of a lack of money.

The VA has in the past defended many purchases of art as being part of "healing gardens" to help soothe wounded soldiers to make them feel comfortable and heal.

The oversight report notes that during the same period of time on which the scandal is focused, nearly $100 billion in salaries and bonuses were paid out to just over 350,000 VA employees. Furthermore, the report found that between 2012 and 2015, the VA added 39,454 new positions to its payroll, of which just one in 11 were “medical officers,” also known as doctors.

Meanwhile, despite the attention that the scandal has received, 500,000 veterans remain on waiting lists for appointments.

Sadly, though the report was published in May of this year, it is only now getting some limited media attention.

_______________________________________________________

Under Barack Obama, National Debt Increases $100 Million Every Hour of Every Day

SEE: http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/economics/item/23754-under-barack-obama-national-debt-increases-100-million-every-hour-of-every-day

OBAMA BUDGET WOULD ADD ANOTHER $9.3 TRILLION TO THE NATIONAL DEBT

Obama Budget Would Add Another $9.3 Trillion to the Debt

Debt would reach $27.4 trillion in 10 years

BY ELIZABETH HARRINGTON

SEE: http://freebeacon.com/issues/obama-budget-would-add-another-9-3-trillion-to-the-debt/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

President Barack Obama presented a budget to Congress on Tuesday that if enacted would add nearly $10 trillion to the national debt, according to the White House’s projections.

The president’s final budget, widely considered to be dead on arrival due to the Republican-controlled Congress, projects the nation would face a $27.4 trillion debt in 2026.

The budget set the actual total debt for 2015 at $18.1 trillion, projecting an increase of $9.3 trillion. When President Obama took office the debt stood at $10.6 trillion.

The White House budget for fiscal year 2017 includes old and new items of the president’s agenda, including the “Fair Share Tax” on the rich, known as the “Buffett Rule,” and a new tax on oil that would increase taxes by $319 billion over 10 years.

The $4.1 trillion budget also includes raising the minimum wage, “free community college” for two years, and the hiring of 200 new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives special agents to “reduce gun violence.”

Obama again included his “preschool for all” initiative, which would cost $17.3 billion between 2017 and 2021, and total $66 billion over 10 years.

The budget claims it will “end family homelessness” at a cost of $1.2 billion by 2022.

A move to “standardize the definition for American Indians and Alaska Natives” used in Obamacare would cost $30 million in 2017.

Providing “full coverage of preventive health and tobacco cessation services” in Medicaid would cost $99 million in 2017 and $450 million by 2021.

Another budget item called “Enact RESPECT: Best Job in the World” would cost $50 million in 2017.

The budget also calls for a $12 billion increase in spending to have the government feed kids year-round.

“The Budget invests $12 billion over 10 years to create a permanent Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children program that would provide all families with children eligible for free and reduced-price school meals access to supplemental food benefits during the summer months,” the Office of Management and Budget said.

Obama’s proposal includes a heavy dose of funding related to climate change, including $1.3 billion to “advance the goals of the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI).”

“The challenge of climate change will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other,” Obama wrote in the introduction to his budget.

The funding includes $750 million for the “Green Climate Fund” to fight climate change in third-world countries. Taxpayer funding would also go towards implementing the president’s climate change plan for the United Nations summit in Paris last year.

The budget would also double spending on “clean energy research” from $6.4 billion in 2016 to $12.8 billion in 2021.

Funding for the Department of Transportation’s TIGER grants, many of which go to more bike paths, streetcar projects, and solar-paneled rest stops, would also nearly double.

The budget also increases taxes, with the creation of numerous new fees.

Aside from the “oil fee” of $10.25 per barrel, the budget would also impose a “financial fee” for large American firms.

“The Budget would also impose a new fee on large, highly-leveraged financial institutions,” the administration said. “Specifically, the Budget would raise $111 billion over 10 years by imposing a seven basis point fee on the liabilities of large U.S. financial firms—the roughly 100 firms with assets over $50 billion.”

Obama’s budget also introduces a Food Safety and Inspection Service fee; a bio-based labeling fee; Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration fee ($30 million in 2017); an Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service fee ($20 million in 2017); and a Natural Resource and Conservation Service Conservation User fee.

Immigration inspection user fees would also be increased, as would custom user fees, which would raise $1.1 billion over 10 years.

The Environmental Protection Agency would begin collecting a “confidential business information management fee,” and the Federal Communications Commission would impose a spectrum licenses user fee to raise $4.8 billion over 10 years.

Cuts are down in the president’s final budget, from $34.2 billion in 2016 to $28.8 billion.

The budget includes a $10 million cut to grants for the Department of Health and Human Services abstinence-only sex education programs and a $1 million reduction to the Department of Labor’s “Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations” program.