Budget (Debt) Numbers

The Outstanding Public Debt of the United States Federal Government as of 25 Jul 2013 at 01:45:42 PM GMT was:

$14,356,900,414,790.21

(click on the number for a current update)

In consideration of the partisan bickering going on in Washington D.C. these days - Today, some numbers to consider.

I googled "percent of U.S. budget" and got these very mixed numbers.

Defense Department between 20% and 31% - it depends on whether retirement benefits are a defense cost or put into social welfare or lumped with medicare and social security. Then there is the matter of Iraq and Afghanistan, because they are separately funded by Congress, they are often not included in the budget calculations for the Department of Defense.

Social Security - 20% of outflow but 0% of current taxes, because SS is already funded (though that money may run out in about 11-13 years). Any social security "fix" will have future implications for the budget debt but no immediate effect.

Interest on the national debt = 6% of total budget, but some of that is the federal government paying itself because the Treasury buys back high interest bonds before they are due and many of those debt instruments are held by other parts of the U.S. government.

If Defense, Social Security and Medicare are not on the table for budget discussions, then 61% to 79% of national government outflow is not even being considered.

A couple of more really interesting numbers. All the U.S. debt held by the Chinese (and they hold the most of any foreign country) equals less than 8% of the outstanding U.S. debt. The biggest holders of our debt - US. What with IRAs, pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies and our dear bailed out banking system; we hold over 72% of our own debt.

Still, Fourteen Trillion Dollars seems like a significant number - $14,000,000,000,000+

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Arek commentary, politics

A Modest Proposal for the U.S. Budget

There is not enough money to do everything everyone wants done. When we had enough money to do nearly everything everyone wanted done, we pissed it away on useless crap, foreign intervention, poorly organized educational reform, military toys and highways to nowhere. We were indeed on the road to nowhere. But that is the past, this is the reality of the present and to dig ourselves and the rest of the world out of this debt mess, we all will have to suffer. Suffering, in this case, for many, will mean not having all the stuff you never used anyway.

Here is my proposal for dealing with the budget problem as it exists today. Please note I am offering this within the context of the present two party system which I hate with a passion bordering on fervor. But we don't have the time to fix the political system and then deal with the budget. Priorities please.

This is a quantitative issue - we either spent less, raise more or some combination of both. Voodoo economics didn't work, neither did trickle down. The guiding principle shall be: Everybody Gives, Nobody Takes.

So, in order:

-Take all proposals that have been offered in Congress as of today, there will be no additions after today; that way no one gets to add anything to offset what they will lose under this proposal. Everyone has had plenty of time to make proposals. No new projects, period, end, done, stop.

-Everything is on the table, this includes Medicare, Social Security and the Department of Defense. It also includes: education, health care, foreign aid and whatever happens to be your pet project or program. Everything.

-First action: Both parties then get to throw out 10% in dollar value of the other guy's proposals. We call this the "are you insane!" rule. Yes, these cuts will be based solely on ideology, so get over it. Both sides get 10% and then you stop all the stupidity based solely on how you read the bible or the constitution or any other piece of moderately entertaining fiction.

-Next, cut the Republican cuts by 80% or if you prefer - restore $4 out of every $5 in cuts proposed by the Republican party. Now do the same to the Democrats cuts, yes they do propose cuts, they just hide them better. This will maintain an overall 20% cut in spending. Math wonks, take a seat.

-Cut all additional spending by 90%, even if they are being called "restored expenditures." It should be 100% but there actually are some new things that need being done.

-All tax cuts or tax break proposals will be taken off the table. Tax cuts currently in place will be rescinded, tax breaks will be rolled back over ten years. This does mean items like the oil depletion allowance. American business is supposed to be flexible and innovative, so prove it. Also the biggest tax break on the books, the home mortgage interest deduction must become part of the conversation.

-Each and every time anyone in the discussion refers to "they" or "them", as in: "they caused this problem" or "they don't want to pay their fair share", the person uttering the offending "they" will be fined five dollars which will go directly to state debt reduction. California should be fine in about two days.

-This budget is to be in effect for four years, subject to renewal under guidelines I will dream up as soon as they actually start implementing this proposal.

Next: Fixing those greedy bastards on Wall Street. First option - castration.

--

art from The Atlantic

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Arek commentary, politics

Medical Marijuana (1): An Inquiry

This begins a series of posts of an as yet unknown length and breadth. I begin by saying that I have a new medical marijuana card. Under California law a M.D. can prescribe marijuana for a variety of conditions. I have the card for my back pain. Now whether it is going to actually work or not will be topic number one of this series. 

I'm not sure if I am going to deal with the politics of pot; maybe a bit later in the series. For now my intention is to walk you through my medical marijuana process/experience. I am engaging in empirical experimentation to discover if I can find a delivery vehicle for the THC in marijuana that will efficaciously dull the lumbar pain I experience. My secondary goal is not to be high all of the time. You see the prescription narcotics I have for my back pain do not get me high at all, at least not anymore; but they also do not control the discomfort. Hence the turn to THC for a possible solution.

First complication - I'm easy. Always have been. Back in the day I was an easy stone. It doesn't take much to get me buzzed. So the dilemma is getting the THC into my system with minimal euphoria. Can you actually believe having a goal of less euphoria. What has this universe come to?

For the uninitiated here are two different subspecies of Cannabis Sativa, they are sativa (cannabis sativa sativa) and indica (cannabis sativa indica). Most of the medical marijuana dispensaries are very precise in their labeling (it's the law). Unfortunately, the distinctions are not perfect for my purposes.

Here is a typical summary of the effects of each subspecies.

Sativa is often characterized as uplifting and energetic. The effects of a sativa marijuana are mostly cerebral. They give a feeling of optimism and well-being, as well as providing a good measure of pain relief for certain symptoms. A few pure sativas are also very high in THC content. They are known to have a quite spacey, or hallucinogenic, effect. Sativas are a good choice for daytime smoking. 

Indica is most often described as a pleasant body buzz. Indicas are great for relaxation, stress relief, and for an overall sense of calm and serenity. Marijuana indicas are also very effective for overall body pain relief, and often used in the treatment of insomnia. They are the late-evening choice of many smokers as an all-night sleep aid. A few pure indica strains are very potent in THC, and will cause the "couchlock" effect, enabling the smoker to simply sit still and enjoy the experience of the smoke.

As you can see, both are effective for some types of pain relief. And, but, also each can get you really stoned; a drawback from my point of view.

Next issue, there are various methods of delivery. Obviously you can smoke the weed, all of the dispensaries sell marijuana buds in a wide range of varieties, both sativa and indica; as well as hybrids of both. Edibles are also available in an ever increasing variety: cookies, candies, butters, spreads, crackers, drinks; the list goes on. All of these have various mixes of the marijuana plant and the two subspecies. There are also tinctures, creams, salves, ointments, unguents and balms.

Thus far I have obtained some smoking material, several baked goods including one (Bud-O-Scotch cookie) that came highly recommended by another back pain sufferer. I also have a hot cocoa mix to please my chocolate addiction and this week I am going to pick up a tincture that comes very highly recommended by a long time pain patient.

I can report that my preliminary pilot study served to remind me that I really have to be careful with dosage. I was given two lemon cookies by the first dispensary I visited as a welcome gift. The packaging said "1+ dose" and contained two Lemonade Soft cookies. I ate 1/3 of one cookie and was semi-dysfunctional for several hours.

Today begins Phase One of my experiment with clinical notes before and after dosing as well as reports while using the medication. Notes and commentary will appear here on a regular basis, for now once a week on Fridays.

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Arek commentary, medical marijuana, my stories, politics