It will be interesting to see how the new tech boom shakes out, and how big it actually is. This will certainly effect the tax revenues of the US in the same positive way the first boom did during the Clinton era. Lets just hope that if we get ahead this time we actually do something about the debt with the budget surplus.
-Cameron On 3/6/06, Gruss Gott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Snow Says U.S. Has Taken 'All Steps' to Avoid Debt Limit > A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP > March 6, 2006 1:00 p.m. > > Treasury Secretary John Snow notified Congress on Monday that the > administration has now taken "all prudent and legal actions" to keep > from hitting the $8.2 trillion national debt limit. > > In a letter to Congressional leaders, Mr. Snow urged lawmakers to pass > a new debt ceiling immediately to avoid the nation's first-ever > default on its obligations. "I know that you share the president's and > my commitment to maintaining the full faith and credit of the U.S. > government," Mr. Snow wrote. > > Treasury officials, briefing congressional aides last week, said that > the government will run out of maneuvering room to keep from exceeding > the current limit sometime during the week of March 20. > > Mr. Snow said government debt managers are starting to use the Civil > Service Retirement and Disability Fund to stay below the current > limit. Mr. Snow said he has declared a "debt issuance suspension > period," a technical designation that lets Treasury suspend new > investments for the civil-service fund and redeem some of that fund's > investments, "as authorized by law." > > The Treasury secretary said "it is important to understand" that this > maneuver "provides only a few days of additional borrowing capacity, > which we expect will be exhausted by mid-March." > > Treasury officials also announced that on Friday they had used the $15 > billion in the Exchange Stabilization Fund, a reserve the Treasury > secretary has that is normally used to smooth out volatile movements > in the value of the dollar in currency markets. > > Treasury has also been taking investments out of a $65.3 billion > government pension fund known as the G-fund. Officials have said that > once the debt limit is raised, the investments taken out of the > pension funds would be replaced and any lost interest payments would > be made up. The formal title for the G-fund is the Government > Securities Investment Fund of the Federal Employees Retirement System. > > An actual default on the debt, a situation when the government misses > making payments to current bondholders, is a doomsday scenario > considered highly unlikely given what it would do to the government's > credit rating. > > It is expected that Congress will approve an increase in the current > $8.18 trillion debt limit by perhaps $781 billion. Mr. Snow will be > meeting privately this week with U.S. lawmakers to discuss the > importance of raising the debt limit, Treasury spokesman Tony Fratto > said at a routine press briefing on Monday. > > Senate Democrats have asked the Republican leadership for extended > debate before raising the debt limit. Senate Minority Leader Harry > Reid (D., Nev.) has said he wants to amend debt limit-increase > legislation "to reduce the need for further debt increases in the > future." > > Whatever concerns Congress may have about the longer-term budget > outlook, "we cannot hold hostage the full faith and credit of the > United States of America," Mr. Fratto said Monday. Any indication from > lawmakers that they can't support an increase is "not appropriate and > certainly not sustainable," he said. "At the end of the day, the debt > ceiling needs to be raised." > > Congress has put off a debt-limit increase until "the eleventh hour" > several times during President Bush's administration, but "we cannot > take it for granted" that putting off the increase this time won't be > problematic, Mr. Fratto said. > > The administration has sent Congress a budget that on paper would cut > the deficit in half by 2009, the year Mr. Bush leaves office. But > Democrats contend the administration met its deficit-reduction goal > only by leaving out major spending items such as the full costs of the > Iraq war. They say the deficit won't improve unless Mr. Bush abandons > his effort to make his first-term tax cuts permanent. > > Sen. Max Baucus (D., Mont.) said last week that under Mr. Bush the > total of the deficits has increased by $3 trillion, a 40% increase > from where the national debt, the total of previous deficits, stood > when Mr. Bush took office in January 2001. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:199007 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
