When it comes to spending money, the folks in D.C. can blow it fast enough to make your head spin. A billion here, a trillion there and its gone in the blink of any eye. Kind of like a shot in front of thirsty sailor.
Of course, the financial meltdown has only made it that much worse. In fact, these days they are spending it so fast that they are now setting some dubious records.
According to the Treasury Department today, the federal government already has run up a record deficit of $485.2 billion in just the first three months of the current budget year.
On top of that, the deficit is on track to surpass $1 trillion for all of fiscal 2009 and some economists believe it could go much higher.
One of them is Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
In fact, he believes that Congress probably isn’t spending money fast enough.
Here’s the story on that score….
From Bloomberg by Craig Torres entitled: Bernanke Urges ‘Strong Measures” to Stabilize Banks
“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned that a fiscal stimulus won’t be enough to spur an economic recovery and that the government may need to buy or guarantee banks’ tainted assets to revive growth.
“Fiscal actions are unlikely to promote a lasting recovery unless they are accompanied by strong measures to further stabilize and strengthen the financial system,” Bernanke said in a speech today at the London School of Economics. “More capital injections and guarantees may become necessary to ensure stability and the normalization of credit markets.”
Bernanke’s remarks indicate he may be seeking to influence deliberations among lawmakers and President-elect Barack Obama’s economic aides on how to deploy the next $350 billion of the financial-rescue fund approved in October. While some Democrats have focused on offering aid to troubled homeowners, the Fed chief’s comments show he’s more concerned about a continued choking off of credit to companies and households.
The Fed chairman said the favorable treatment that financial institutions are receiving from the government is “unavoidable” because the economy needs credit to grow.”
Ho hum…another day….another plea for more money to spend.
Where does it all end?
