We have some bad financial news, and some really bad news to report.

Total Deficit or Surplus (Percentage of GDP):

The bad news is that a mid-year review from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) estimates that the 2009 U.S. federal deficit will be $1.58 trillion, which is $262 billion less than predicted earlier in the year.  The Obama administration says this is because it is providing less financial aid than expected to Wall Street.

Unfortunately, the really bad news is the 10-year deficit projection rose to $9 trillion, while the Congressional Budget Office estimated the 10-year deficit at $7.1 trillion.  The $9 trillion figure represents three-quarters the size of the entire national economy.  Either way, our country is plunging deep into debt.

The discrepancy between the two estimates demonstrates how difficult it is to predict something the size and complexity of the U.S. economy.  What’s really scary is that the margin-of-error of these estimates is at least $2 trillion.

"Whatever their cause, the administration is very concerned about these out-year deficits, and getting those deficits under control is a top priority of the administration," said budget director Peter Orszag.

The OMB report warned that rising health care costs and entitlement programs will continue to strain the federal budget and add to our $11.7 trillion national debt.  This could hamper overall economic growth in a self-reinforcing downward spiral.  The CBO said the long-term picture poses a “threat to the economy.”

Meanwhile, Congress is on summer vacation, dreaming up new ways to bankrupt our country.

Story at FoxNews

What, Congress hasn’t plunged us deep enough in debt?  They won’t be happy until our future is completely mortgaged and the Chinese own America?

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he would consider supporting a second economic stimulus bill, but that people need to give the first package more time to work.  There have been many complaints that the $800 billion stimulus bill passed in February (without a single Republican vote) has failed to boost the U.S. economy.

While promoting the stimulus bill, the Obama administration said money would be paid out quickly and would save or create 750,000 jobs by early August.  Without the bill, administration officials argued that unemployment could top 9 percent by 2010.

Well, here we are in July 2009, and less than 10% of the stimulus funds have been allocated thus far, and over 2.3 million jobs have been lost since the bill was passed, resulting in a 9.5% unemployment rate.  Thus, the bill has failed terribly on both counts.  Does that mean the money was wasted?

“Certainly, I don’t think we can make a determination as to whether or not that’s been successful — certainly as successful as we want it to be, certainly not as quickly as we want it to be,” Hoyer said.  But he added that job losses have “substantially decreased” in recent months, and that the stimulus bill has prevented many people from being laid off from their jobs.  “In fact, we believe it is working,” he said.

Where’s the proof?

Story at CNN

Former Utah congressman Bill Orton died when his ATV flipped over and crushed him on a sand dune at the Little Sahara Recreation Area in Utah.  Orton, 60, was riding alone and wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.  He was killed instantly.

Orton was a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 1997.  He ran an unsuccessful campaign for Utah governor in 2000.

The sheriff said the popular park is “a fun but dangerous place to ride.  It’s a lot of rolling hills.  He went off a sand dune without realizing how far down he was going.”

Several other riders Saturday were injured in ATV crashes and five had to be airlifted by medical helicopters to hospitals.

Story at FoxNews

The U.S. House of Representatives rejected an amended omnibus package containing significant conservation projects and advancements.  This represents a major loss to the conservation movement in the United States. 

The bill would have established:

• More than 2 million acres of wilderness in nine states
• Three new national park units
• Three new national conservation areas
• Ten new national heritage areas
• A new national monument
• Four new national trails
• Enlarged boundaries for more than a dozen existing national parks
• More than 1,000 miles of national wild and scenic rivers

“This is the most important piece of conservation legislation we will likely consider this year and possibly in this entire Congress,” House Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) said on the House floor before the bill was rejected.

As usual, the Republicans were the major obstacle to the land conservation and killed the bill for procedural reasons.  There was also pressure by the National Rifle Association (NRA), which objected to items in the bill that would restrict hunting on some federal land.

Story at New York Times

White House officials say that President Obama will sign the $410 billion omnibus spending bill to keep key government agencies funded in 2009.  The bill contains nearly 9,000 earmarks totaling tens of billions of dollars.  Congressional members use earmarks to direct funding to unrelated pet projects.

During his presidential campaign, Obama promised to end wasteful spending, with a focus on reducing or eliminating earmarks altogether.  Many lawmakers including some key Democrats have urged Obama to veto the bill to prove he’s serious about cutting pork.

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