Federal Gov has a surplus in Jan., Budget deficit cut in half from last Jan. deficit.

[BigRedChief]

I thought that deficit was causing an economic catastrophe.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013...#ixzz2LJBzQ5GW

January surplus shrinks 2013 US budget deficit


The federal government reported a rare surplus for January and is on track to run its smallest annual budget deficit since President Obama took office.

The Treasury Department said Tuesday that the government took in a surplus of $2.9 billion in January. That's the first monthly surplus since April, a month that benefited from income tax payments.


January's budget benefited from an estimated $9 billion in extra revenue from higher Social Security taxes. That helped lowered the deficit through the first four months of the budget year to $290.4 billion -- nearly $60 billion lower than the same period a year ago.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8161WV20120207

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...91615R20130207

(Reuters) - The budget deficit shrank by nearly half in January compared to a year earlier as tax collections from individuals rose and outlays fell, the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday.


The CBO said it expects the Treasury Department to report a $27 billion deficit for January, versus a $50 billion deficit in January 2011.
The January budget gap will bring the total deficit for the first four months of fiscal 2012 to $349 billion, a decrease of about $70 billion from the same period of fiscal 2011.


The CBO last week predicted that the United States would rack up a $1-trillion-plus deficit for a fourth straight year, forecasting a $1.08 trillion gap for fiscal 2012, which ends on September 30. The fiscal 2011 U.S. deficit was $1.3 trillion.


January U.S. receipts were up about $9 billion, or 4 percent from a year earlier, largely because of higher withholdings of individual income and payroll taxes, CBO said.


Outlays were $13 billion, or 5 percent, lower in January 2012 than they were a year earlier. But because of the New Year's holiday, some benefit payments were shifted into December, reducing outlays during the month.


Were it not for these timing changes, the January deficit would have been slightly higher at about $31 billion, CBO said.


The Treasury is expected to report official January budget details on Friday.
(Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

[mlyonsd]

Looks like cutting spending probably won't hurt the Obama recovery now.

[notorious]

Hey, if it's true, this is great news.

I don't care who is in office when things are going good.

[Prison Bitch]

Wait a second: we got a surplus without raising taxes? Didn't Obama plead with us to raise taxes to take care of the deficit? Didn't he blame the deficits on the Bush tax cuts? What is going on?

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Wait a second: we got a surplus without raising taxes? Didn't Obama plead with us to raise taxes to take care of the deficit? Didn't he blame the deficits on the Bush tax cuts? What is going on?

Better read it again.

[HonestChieffan]

This is super news if you don't read, understand English, or you have no math ability.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

This is super news if you don't read, understand English, or you have no math ability.

So it's right up your alley then?

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by notorious

Hey, if it's true, this is great news.

I don't care who is in office when things are going good.

CBO says so. The articles are from Rutgers and Fox News. But, it does look like "just the facts" articles.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

Looks like cutting spending probably won't hurt the Obama recovery now.

You admit there is an ongoing Obama recovery?

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by cosmo20002

Better read it again.

The article I read says that revenue went up 4% and spending went down 5%. So if Obama was arguing for higher revenue and lower spending, then he can use this as a feather in his cap.


Since the article doesn't break down what portion of extra revenue came from higher rates on wealthy earners vs what came off the expiration of the lower FICA witholding, we can't even say for sure the wealthy are causing the surplus.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by cosmo20002

Better read it again.

He didn't even read it did he? Just started with the Obama is the devil diatribe. If he did read it, his reading comprehension is pathetic.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

The article I read says that revenue went up 4% and spending went down 5%. So if Obama was arguing for higher revenue and lower spending, then he can use this as a feather in his cap.


Since the article doesn't break down what portion of extra revenue came from higher rates on wealthy earners vs what came off the expiration of the lower FICA witholding, we can't even say for sure the wealthy are causing the surplus.

Um, yes we can. Higher rates haven't kicked in for higher income earners haven't hit the books yet. The forms they need to do their taxes usually aren't mailed until the end of January.

This is almost all due to higher tax collections from withholdings. There is a financial analyst (can't remember his name always gets cross posted where I read) who love this data series because it is more timely and he feels it catches inflection points in the economy better. This data series has been trending up for quite awhile now.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by KC native

Um, yes we can. Higher rates haven't kicked in for higher income earners haven't hit the books yet. The forms they need to do their taxes usually aren't mailed until the end of January.

This is almost all due to higher tax collections from withholdings.

So if the higher income rates haven't hit the books yet, you are saying that Cosmo is incorrectly jumping the gun by crediting it for the surplus?

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

So if the higher income rates haven't hit the books yet, you are saying that Cosmo is incorrectly jumping the gun by crediting it for the surplus?

"January U.S. receipts were up about $9 billion, or 4 percent from a year earlier, largely because of higher withholdings of individual income and payroll taxes, CBO said."

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by notorious

Hey, if it's true, this is great news.

I don't care who is in office when things are going good.

That kind of stretches the concept of "going good". It's like saying things are going good when the boat is only sinking half as fast as it was immediately after the captain rammed the boat into the iceberg.