Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

Buffett: Cut Our 'Greenback Emissions'

With recovery in sight, Congress should curb deficit spending

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 19, 2009 7:20 AM CDT

(Newser) – Just as carbon emissions could have a dire effect on the environment, Warren Buffett thinks “greenback emissions” could wreak havoc on the economy, he writes in the New York Times. The government has spent staggering sums to avoid economic disaster, and that was wise. Now, the economy is “out of the emergency room. But enormous dosages of monetary medicine continue to be administered,” and it’s going to have side effects.

Excluding the World War II years, the country’s highest deficit-to-GDP ratio since 1920 was 6%—until now. This year, the deficit will rise to roughly 13% of GDP. “Fiscally, we are in uncharted territory.” With expenditures at 185% of receipts, it’s going to take major political will and big time overhauls to get that deficit under control. A revived economy won't begin to do the job, Buffett writes, and if Congress takes the politically safe way out, increasing inflation rather than raising taxes of cutting expenditures, the dollar will crumble.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

In this May 21, 2008 file photo, Warren Buffet speaks during a news conference in Madrid, Spain. (AP Photo/Paul White, file)

In this May 2, 2009 file photo, Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks to a reporter before the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Once recovery is gained, Congress must end the rise in the debt-to-GDP ratio and keep our growth in obligations in line with our growth in resources. The dollar’s destiny lies with Congress. - Warren Buffett

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

House GOP Caves, Backs Payroll Tax

Boehner and Co. say they'll accept tax cut without paying for it elsewhere

(NEWSER) - House Republican leaders have surprised and angered rank-and-file lawmakers by abruptly backing down from demands that a 10-month extension of the payroll tax cut be paid for with cuts elsewhere. GOP leaders are wary of holding up a tax cut for 160 million Americans in an election year, Politico notes, but John Boehner's raucous caucus will likely chafe at the move, which will add around $100 billion to the deficit. Still, the measure will now likely pass; even Nancy Pelosi hasn't signaled opposition. More»

Obama Unveils $3.8T Budget, Targets Rich

Budget would institute 'Buffett Rule,' boost infrastructure

(NEWSER) - President Obama officially unveiled his $3.8 trillion budget today, and as expected it draws a 2012 battle line, calling for higher taxes on the wealthy combined with spending measures intended to bolster the economy, the AP reports. "We built this budget around the idea that our country has always done best when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules," Obama said, according to CNN . "This is not about class warfare. This is about the nation's welfare." More»

Obama's Budget Sets Up Fight With GOP

He wants to beef up domestic spending, raise taxes on rich

(NEWSER) - The major news outlets are getting details of the budget plan President Obama will unveil on Monday, and it sounds like it's designed to set up election-year comparisons with Republicans. Two big themes: It calls for higher taxes on the rich and big spending on roads and manufacturing projects. It also projects the 2012 deficit will rise slightly to $1.33 trillion before dropping to $901 billion in fiscal 2013. Other details: More»

How Much Did Obama Really Add to Deficit?

Ezra Klein crunches the numbers and comes up with a lower total than you think

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney has taken to carrying around a debt clock, blaming President Obama for the ever-climbing number it shows. But the clock doesn't show how much Obama has actually added to that debt, so Ezra Klein set out to find out. "There are two answers," he writes in the Washington Post . The first, which is "simple and wrong" is $4.7 trillion. That's what you get when you subtract the debt when Obama took office (about $10.5 trillion) from the current debt (about $15.2 trillion). More»

Deficit to Shrink ... to $1.1T

Congressional Budget Office releases its assessment

(NEWSER) - Good news/bad news time. Good news: The deficit will fall this year, thanks to additional tax revenue and major cuts in government spending. Bad news: It's still going to be $1.1 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office estimate released today; last year's total was $1.3 trillion. If the figure is accurate, 2012 will be the fourth year in a row that the government has run at least a trillion dollars short, Bloomberg reports. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Buffett: Cut Our 'Greenback Emissions'