Once again I’ve let the Feed Reader of Doom™ overgrow everything. Let’s see what’s inside:
- Lawhawk found that even the tiniest of profits in Philadelphia get whacked with a $300 “business privilege license”. That sound you hear is Benjamin Franklin increasing the revolutions of his corpse.
- Randall Hoven asks and answers the question, “Which was higher between FY2003 and FY2008 – spending on the Iraq War or federal spending on education?” Hint – the cumulative FY2003-FY2010 deficits would have been between $4 trillion and $5 trillion with or without the Iraq War.
- Related (H/T – Fausta) – The Wall Street Journal reports that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the “baseline spending” by the federal government (what the government is expected to spend if the laws that are in effect at the time continue, with any scheduled expirations happening on-time) for FY2008-FY2018 has increased by $4.4 trillion (including actual spending in FY2008 and FY2009) between January 2008 and August 2010. Bonus item #1 – instead of spending a projected $4.2 trillion in 2018, the federal government is now expected to spend $5.0 trillion in 2018.
- Bonus item #2 – The Heritage Foundation has some startling figures from that CBO report – the deficit nears $2 trillion in 2020 (and that’s with no more Bush or Obama tax cuts), the publicly-held debt of $23 trillion will exceed 100% of GDP by 2020, and over half the above-the-historical-average tax revenues (with or without tax-cut extension) will go to servicing interest on said debt.
- Jim Geraghty raises the GOP House predictions. Wisconsin interests include the 7th as a “GOP has a good chance of winning”, the 8th as a “GOP chances about 50-50” and the 3rd as “GOP should win with luck or wave”. Speaking of the 3rd, Dan Kapanke is on Geraghty’s Bakers’ Dozen low-profile upset potentials.
- James Wigderson found the “normal Feingold supporter”. I’m shocked, SHOCKED to find it is a DC lobbyist.
- Even the Associated Press is noting that neither rain nor gloom of failed international relations (well, I put the second part in) is keeping Teh Won from his appointed rounds of golf.
- CDR Salamander has the graph of the day – the total national defense spending between 1947 and 2011 in both inflation-adjusted numbers and as a percentage of GDP. Question number 2 for you the gentle reader – which is higher – defense spending as a percentage of GDP in 1979 or 2009? Hint – the Commander’s exit quote is, “I call them the ‘Terrible 20s’ for a reason.”
- Eric predicts what will happen in the latest Israeli/Palestinian “Peace” talks. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss
If this were morning, it would be a Scramble. However, I had to sneak these past the egg inspectors.
