FY 2012 Federal Budget links
FY 2012 Federal Budget
The following links are to federal government sources for the federal budget,
Terminations, Reductions and Savings
TESTIMONY OF JACOB J. LEW DIRECTOR OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET
February 15, 2011
Thanks Dan
I will try to look at these, but so far it doesn’t look as though they made any special effort to be clear.
I did run into a discussion today by someone who was there that made it sound like “the budget” can be a pretty arbitrary decision by the president of what they want to count and what they want to leave under the table… and that “effect on the economy” is one of their considerations. but effect on the economy is not a budge item. it is a political opinion.
Jacob Lew doesn’t understand national accounting? He boasts “we had balanced the budget and projected a surplus of $5.6 trillion over the next decade.” As far I’m aware the accounting identity is:
(I – S) + (G – T) + (X – M) = 0
If the current account (X – M) is negative (which it was during the Clinton administration) and the federal government runs a surplus G < T then after all things are said and done the private sector must run down savings and accumulate debt. This is a matter of accounting identities and not lefty ideology. And this caused to a major extend the The Great Recession. This guy should be fired!
Stephen
I don’t know if all the other readers of this blog know what your accounting identity means. You may be right. You may be saying something important, but from my experience most people who refer to accounting identities don’t seem to have much understanding that things change. Why don’t you write us a post explaining your identity and why it means what you say it does.
@coberly
OK. Fair enough. Today it is a little bit late due to the time difference. I wil post tomorrow a comment on national accounting and why economics is unfortunately riddled with accounting identities. Guess the best way to go is (1) how GDP works and (2) why China’s purchase of treasuries isn’t financing anything. What do you think?
Stephen
sounds good to me. I am one of those who doesn’t know what your accounting identity means.
don’t know if your “unfortunately” was meant to be ironic. i have no problem with accounting identities, but i get furious with people who trot them out to “prove” something that ignores the dynamics of the situation.
I think Peter Orszag’s “iron law of accounting” to prove we just had to accept his view of SS finances was what got me rabid on the subject.
To say that X = B is an accounting identity tells you nothing about what happens when B changes except, i suppose, that X will change too…. but i wouldn’t be so sure about even that.