Thursday, May 13, 2010

Recovery? Show me the Money

Is anyone else tired of all the "recovery" talk and how retail sales are up, and jobs are improving? Here's the deal. Same store sales are meaningless when dozens of chains went bankrupt and thousands of weak stores closed.

Moreover, alleged improvements in hiring do not mean diddly squat if income tax receipts are down.

With that backdrop please consider Budget Deficit in U.S. Widened to $82.7 Billion http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... 8ycnpZqsM8

The U.S. posted its largest April budget deficit on record as receipts declined in a month that typically sees an increase in individual income tax payments.

The excess of spending over revenue rose to $82.7 billion last month compared with a $20.9 billion gap in April 2009, the Treasury Department said today in Washington. It was the second April deficit since 1983 and exceeded the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.

April marked a record 19th straight monthly shortfall, highlighting the challenges facing the Obama administration. Deterioration in the government’s balance sheet in coming years raises the risk of higher interest rates even as an improving economy helps lift tax receipts.

“With the recovery in place, we should be seeing higher revenue and lower outlays, not the other way around,â€