Five More States Report Improvements in October
1. Georgia's economy continued to show signs of improvement as state tax collections rose in October, the fifth straight month they have climbed. Tax collections for the month are up 8.2 percent from the same month a year before, an increase of almost $93 million. Individual income tax collections -- considered an important economic indicator -- rose 4.1 percent. Sales tax collections jumped 7.4 percent. Corporate income taxes dipped 10.5 percent. Motor fuel taxes increased 14.1 percent.
2. Kentucky's general fund tax collections rose 8.1 percent in October from the same month a year ago, the best monthly improvement in two years but one that the state's budget director says isn't sustainable. Thanks in part to last month's strong performance, revenue collections have risen 5.3 percent for the first four months of the fiscal year. The 8.1 percent revenue upswing was the state's best monthly improvement since April 2008.
3. Texas sales tax receipts grew 6.6 percent in October compared to the same month a year ago. The $1.6 billion jump marks the seventh consecutive month of growth following a 14-month slump.
5. October tax collections for Minnesota were $46 million ahead of earlier projections, as the individual income tax, sales tax and corporate tax were all better than expectations.
20 Comments:
U.S. government revenue is also up:
U.S. Budget Deficit Was Smaller Than Predicted in October
11/10/10
In October, revenue rose 7.9% to $145.9 billion from $135.3 billion in October 2009. That's a substantial increase, but it's lower than the 12% year-over-year revenue increase recorded in September.
The Congressional Budget Office has forecast a $1.06 trillion deficit for fiscal 2011, which is about 7% of U.S. gross domestic product. The federal government posted a $1.29 trillion deficit for fiscal 2010, and a record $1.42 trillion deficit in fiscal 2009.
Reality check:
1. The states are broke. Reports claim that the biggest 15 states spent more than 200% of tax revenues in the last decade.
2. Consumer bankruptcies projected to be 1.6 million in 2010.
3. More than 42 million depend on food stamps.
4. Around 3 in 10 households have at least one member looking for a job.
5. The number of people not in the labor force just hit a record high again.
6. Commodity prices are exploding as the USD is being devalued.
I could go on but I believe that the point has been made.
"The Congressional Budget Office has forecast..."...
Well PT considering that the CBO is still pushing the global warming scam should anything else they have to say be believed?
Just wondering...
Die recession, die, die, die. QE2 is beginning to work.
PS In the third quarter 2010, unit labor costs are down 1.8 percent, y-o-y.
We know all commercial rents are down--factory space, office space, retail space.
That is about 70-80 percent of business costs, labor and rent.
And demand, sometimes called aggregate demand, is weak.
Ain't no inflation in that mix.
benny how can QE2 be a good thing?
Using paper to buy paper is the recipie for inflation, what's good about that?
Vange:
How much evidence would it take to convince you that things are getting back to normal?
I'm betting that if a Republican was in the white house, you would view all this data a lot differently.
Juandos: If I'm wrong on predicting the price of soybeans this year (not my usual crop), does it mean I will be wrong predicting the price of hay, or my grocery or insurance bills?
Will the U.S. end up like Ireland, because of our poor economic policies?:
Ireland on the Brink as Budget Crunch Looms
November 11, 2010
"Yields on government bonds have soared in recent days as investors increasingly fear that the only long-term option for Ireland will be a bailout from Europe.
Yields on 10-year Irish bonds have soared in recent days and hit around 8.5% on Wednesday.
Ireland can realistically only afford to pay 2% interest if it's going to whittle away its underlying debt, Kelly said in his article. So if a rescue was on the same 5% terms as Greece is paying, "we will inevitably face a state bankruptcy that will destroy what few shreds of our international reputation still remain," he warned.
"People are really angry. People on social welfare, pensioners and lower income earners feel that they're going to be hit in December's budget, and when that happens there's going to be outrage.""
Yay! Politicians got more money!!!
benji-
regardless of whether or not you thing QE2 will work (and it won't, easy money cannot solve overcapacity), none of that money has hit the system in a meaningful way yet.
there is not possible way it is starting to work in a week.
The U.S. may pay twice as much interest on the National Debt in a few years. However, today mortgage rates are at a low:
Mortgage rates hit new low of 4.17%
November 11, 2010
"The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 4.17% this week, yet another new low for Freddie Mac records. Rates have dropped from 4.91% a year ago.
The average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate loan fell to 3.57% this week.
The last time we saw rates this low was in 1951, when loan terms were shorter and rules were different."
Benji,
I don't know what kind of business you run that has labor and rent at 70-80% of costs. If labor runs 25% for a business, that would mean rent is at 45-55%.
That's a surefire recipe for bankruptcy.
Ain't no inflation in that mix.
No inflation unless you eat, drive, use health care, buy automobile insurance, pay tuition, use cotton cloth, sugar, cooking oil, etc., etc., etc.
How much evidence would it take to convince you that things are getting back to normal?
When I saw unemployment as counted under Carter go under 5%, CPI as measured before Clinton go under 2%, the USD stop its decline, and government spending go down I will consider the claims of recovery as legitimate. We are far from there.
I'm betting that if a Republican was in the white house, you would view all this data a lot differently.
Not at all. You had Bush in the White House and he ran the country as badly as any president in the last 60 years. The Republicans have shown that they love big government just as much as Democrats and both are clearly enemies of individual liberty. I do not believe that the US can recover until both parties are marginalized.
I think that the choice facing US voters has best been captured by the South Park writers.
I don't know what kind of business you run that has labor and rent at 70-80% of costs. If labor runs 25% for a business, that would mean rent is at 45-55%.
Could be a pimp.
"Juandos: If I'm wrong on predicting the price of soybeans this year (not my usual crop), does it mean I will be wrong predicting the price of hay, or my grocery or insurance bills?"...
Probably...
The problem isn't whether you're wrong but by how much you're wrong?
People in the business of beans for example are rarely on target for calling the price on beans but then again they're inside the 10% mark pretty much all of the time...
Look at the potential for being wrong on your grocery bill over a year's time...
Say you have a sizable family and you all like bread so maybe you spend $1,000 a year on bread products...
What happens if there is drought in the American plains and leaf smut all throughout the Russian steppes...
You could still have all the bread you'd normally consume but you might have to pay a couple hundred dollars more than you normally would have...
Juandos: You miss the point.
it is a fallacious argument to claim that because one estimate is wrong that every estimate is wrong.
Vange:
Good answer. we can't know what is going on wwithout standards to measure by.
I agree with what you say about the parties and big government. owever, I'm not so sure big government is bad as long as it is also fair.
Every time government writes a regulation it creates value for someone, and (probabbly) takes away from someone else. Regulations represent a form of property, then, and we should be able to buy and sell the benefits therefrom.
This kind of voting with your wallet would equalize the costs and benefits of regulation.
I agree with what you say about the parties and big government. however, I'm not so sure big government is bad as long as it is also fair.
But government can't ever be fair when it uses force to get revenues to fund its programs. How is it 'fair' when people who have worked very hard, made the right decisions, and paid their own way are also expected to support other people that they do not know and may not care for?
Is it 'fair' for me to push for taxpayer funds to build a better opera house when most taxpayers have no interest of ever stepping in an opera house? Is it 'fair' for me to pay 80 cents per kwh to private individuals who put up solar panels on their house when I get more reliable power at 11 cents per kwh? Is it 'fair' for my money to fund a late third trimester abortion when I consider it murder? Or to fund wars that I do not want to see fought?
Every time government writes a regulation it creates value for someone, and (probabbly) takes away from someone else. Regulations represent a form of property, then, and we should be able to buy and sell the benefits therefrom.
But with all regulation of voluntary activity there is a net loss to society. Regulations waste resources and divert wealth to third parties. There is no moral argument for regulating voluntary social or economic activity.
This kind of voting with your wallet would equalize the costs and benefits of regulation.
You miss the point. When regulations begin to rob productive people of their wealth they will move their capital to countries that treat it much better and there will be a net loss of jobs and wealth to your country. The fact that I can get rich by betting on such activity does not change the fact that the production pie will shrink and that many people will take losses that were imposed by government.
"it is a fallacious argument to claim that because one estimate is wrong that every estimate is wrong"...
Only to you hydra, only to you...
Adults do their homework and take no one's word for something...
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