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During March and early April, pundits were saying that all the government had to do was to hold out until April 15th and there would be a windfall of tax receipts to help them stay under the national debt ceiling awhile longer.

Well, the receipts are in and it's a great disappointment:

As you can see, corporate receipts that normally account for about 10 percent of revenue are down dramatically. These companies usually pay estimates quarterly, but this final quarter is way off.

Also, the self-employed and smaller firms that form the backbone of this nation are also down considerably from preceeding years. These are the smaller companies like doctors, lawyers, dry cleaners, restaurants, plumbers, and so forth that wait until the last minute to file. The IRS considers any company with less than 500 employees to be a small company. Many individuals who had a refund coming filed well in advance of April fifteenth.

This is a serious drop in revenue for the government. As of April 30, the national debt was already up $177.2 billion. That's a deficit folks, and we're only seven months into the fiscal year. Anyone want to bet on a $300 billion plus deficit this year?

For the first time since 1997, the government is back to borrowing from investors. In other words, they are selling many more Treasury securities than required merely to replace those that mature, what has constituted the "bond market" for the last four years.

According to the President himself, the war in Afghanistan is costing us only one billion a month. Small change to the government. But we'll throw in another couple of billion into putting that nation on its feet.

Homeland security, a star wars shield, a new farm bill, and normal spending is costing us a bundle. The government is not cutting its expenditures one iota and is adding even more. It's becoming difficult to identify the "tax and spend" party, or should we say the less tax and more spending party?

Just last week, the House of Representatives tried to pass a $29 billion anti-terrorism bill that everyone was in favor of. Yet, because republicans were trying to piggyback language that would merely set the stage for a $750 billion increase to the national debt ceiling, the House ended up in session until 3:00 AM Saturday morning, postponing everyone's Memorial Day vacation, and arguing about the debt ceiling.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Treasury is claiming that Congress must permit this rise to the debt limit by mid-June. And this is with a cushion of at least $90 billion that is not subject to the debt limit. The debt limit is currently $5.95 trillion and the debt already stands at more than $6 trillion.


		SURPRISE TAX RECEIPTS WAY DOWN
	During March and early April, pundits were saying that all the government had to do was to hold out until April 15th and there would be a windfall of tax receipts to help them stay under the national debt ceiling awhile longer. Well, the receipts are in and it's a great disappointment: As you can see, corporate receipts that normally account for about 10 percent of revenue are down dramatically. These companies usually pay estimates quarterly, but this final quarter is way off. Also, the self-employed and smaller firms that form the backbone of this nation are also down considerably from preceeding years. These are the smaller companies like doctors, lawyers, dry cleaners, restaurants, plumbers, and so forth that wait until the last minute to file. The IRS considers any company with less than 500 employees to be a small company. Many individuals who had a refund coming filed well in advance of April fifteenth. This is a serious drop in revenue for the government. As of April 30, the national debt was already up $177.2 billion. That's a deficit folks, and we're only seven months into the fiscal year. Anyone want to bet on a $300 billion plus deficit this year? For the first time since 1997, the government is back to borrowing from investors. In other words, they are selling many more Treasury securities than required merely to replace those that mature, what has constituted the "bond market" for the last four years. According to the President himself, the war in Afghanistan is costing us only one billion a month. Small change to the government. But we'll throw in another couple of billion into putting that nation on its feet. Homeland security, a star wars shield, a new farm bill, and normal spending is costing us a bundle. The government is not cutting its expenditures one iota and is adding even more. It's becoming difficult to identify the "tax and spend" party, or should we say the less tax and more spending party? Just last week, the House of Representatives tried to pass a $29 billion anti-terrorism bill that everyone was in favor of. Yet, because republicans were trying to piggyback language that would merely set the stage for a $750 billion increase to the national debt ceiling, the House ended up in session until 3:00 AM Saturday morning, postponing everyone's Memorial Day vacation, and arguing about the debt ceiling. Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Treasury is claiming that Congress must permit this rise to the debt limit by mid-June. And this is with a cushion of at least $90 billion that is not subject to the debt limit. The debt limit is currently $5.95 trillion and the debt already stands at more than $6 trillion. More on this subject in the next article.