Budget Process Committee

[Badger]

Aye.

And do you really need everyone to vote to move forward? Sorry I haven't exactly been paying close attention. (I think we're all guilty of that.) I'll start focusing more on this from now on.

Well, not all of us, Blue.

The vote has passed. The template budget is deemed representative of Atlasia's current budget. Yay!

The last thing on our plate, gentlemen, is to determine what the current level of the national debt is. Let's continue that discussion now and get a vote before next week.

While I appreciate your point about the 2009 estimated deficit of $1 Trillion, Yank, and I won't rewrite history entirely, we need to appreciate the template has a much, much smaller deficit then that. We should accept the 2009 deficit as being the result of an anomalous bad economic year.

I suggest an estimated national debt in the high $9 Trillion range. It'll also help spark debate when the debt soon hits the politically symbolic level of $10 Trillion. _

Last task, Committee members---lets see some discussion here.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

If the template budget has a smaller deficit, how did your proposal go from $1 trillion to $9 trillion?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

If the template budget has a smaller deficit, how did your proposal go from $1 trillion to $9 trillion?

$1 Trillion = deficit
$ 9 Trillion = debt

Debt = total debt accumulated
Deficit = total added to the debt in a certain period, usually a year.

Why do people mix them up all the time?


But we did have a recession and during recessions is when you have "anamously high deficits". The determination is the extent of the "anamously high deficits". But it is very reasonable to expect it to be "anamously high".

But that is all semantics of course. $ 9 trillion is certainly on the lower range of what would be reasonably expected but its acceptable, I think.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

If the template budget has a smaller deficit, how did your proposal go from $1 trillion to $9 trillion?

$1 Trillion = deficit
$ 9 Trillion = debt

Debt = total debt accumulated
Deficit = total added to the debt in a certain period, usually a year.

Yeah... I knew that.  Don't know what I was thinking there.

[Badger]

So, since Yank makes a good point, how about let's say a $9.8 Trillion National Debt, including this deficit. I think that figure concedes more to the recent $1 Trillion deficit we were running, and will create debate when the national debt soon (unless something drastic is done) breaks the $10 Trillion threshold.

In fact, I will move the Committee adopt $9.8 Trillion as the current level of Atlasia's debt. If anyone has any objections or further discussion/amendment to add, please say so and I'll stop the vote to allow all sides to be heard.

Otherwise, I hope we can ratify this and have it presented to the Senate and Administration possibly as soon as Monday.

I'll start:

AYE.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Aye

Though I'm assuming of course that this isn't any sort of 'official' move. We're just putting together a mockup to hopefully be later made official by the Senate, since we certainly don't have the authority to just tinker with the debt ceiling.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

AYE

[Badger]

Aye

Though I'm assuming of course that this isn't any sort of 'official' move. We're just putting together a mockup to hopefully be later made official by the Senate, since we certainly don't have the authority to just tinker with the debt ceiling.

Exactly. We're simply rationally determining--kind of like forensic accountants--what the Debt is, not what it should be.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Aye



This has nothing to do with a debt ceiling or how high the debt should be or where we went it. It is merely where it would logically be at this juncture.

[Badger]

Aye



This has nothing to do with a debt ceiling or how high the debt should be or where we went it. It is merely where it would logically be at this juncture.

Word. Dat's da point.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Aye

[Badger]

The Ayes have it. The current national debt is deemed to be $9.8 Trillion.

Nice job folks. I will post this to the Senate and Administration soon.