The federal budget deficit for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2006 is $247.7 billion. The original estimate for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2006 was $423 billion. That is “billion” with a “b.” For those who do not know what a billion is that is 1,000 million. A trillion would be 1,000 billion. Following so far? With nearly 300 million people in the U.S., that would come to approximately $825 for every man, woman, and child in America. $825 is quite a bit lower than your pulled-out-of-thin-air figure of $2.5 million for every American.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,219745,00.html

The lower than expected deficit for this fiscal year just ended is due to a rush of tax revenue resulting from the booming economy (higher corporate profits) and the Bush tax cuts (when the govt. cuts income taxes across the board, it has always resulted in higher revenues to the govt. It worked when Kennedy did it, when Reagan did it, and when Bush 43 did it).

The budget deficit shrinks when revenues are greater than expenditures, when there is more money coming in than going out in other words. Even though government spending was up by 7.3% over last year, revenues into the government increased by 11.7%. Thanks to business tax incentives and a booming economy, corporate taxes brought in $76.8 billion MORE THAN EXPECTED. Individual income taxes came in $46.3 billion HIGHER THAN EXPECTED. Proof again that when you cut income taxes across the board, revenues go up.

Here is some much needed perspective for you on the federal budget deficit: That figure of nearly $248 billion for the year just ended is only 1.8% OF TOTAL ECONOMIC OUTPUT (GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT). Now if only Congress will allow the President the line-item veto to get spending under control, you will start to see that deficit figure shrink even faster.

If you are talking about Teddy Kennedy, I think he also said, “I never meet a bottle of booze I didn’t like or a bridge I could not drive off of. ” Well, maybe he didn’t say that, but he should have.