CBO: Feds Borrowing $4.8 billion Per Day in FY 2013, So Far

(CNSNews.com) – The federal government ran a deficit of $292 billion for the first two months of fiscal year 2013 – October and November 2012 – amounting to $4.8 billion of borrowed money each day.

“The federal budget deficit was $292 billion for the first two months of fiscal year 2013, $57 billion more than the shortfall recorded in October and November of last year,” CBO said in its Monthly Budget Review Friday.

This means that the government borrowed $4.8 billion for each calendar day so far in 2013. If the Treasury Department restricted its borrowing to only weekdays, its per day average would jump to $6.5 billion per day thus far in fiscal year 2013.

READ MORE:  http://cnsnews.com/news/article/cbo-feds-borrowing-48-billion-day-fy-2013-so-far

'Welfare Spending Equates to $168 Per Day for Every Household in Poverty'

The amount of money spent on welfare programs equals, when converted to cash payments, about "$168 per day for every household in poverty," the minority side of the Senate Budget Committee finds. Here's a chart detailing the committee's findings:



According to the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee, welfare spending per day per household in poverty is $168, which is higher than the $137 median income per day. When broken down per hour, welfare spending per hour per household in poverty is $30.60, which is higher than the $25.03 median income per hour.

"Based on data from the Congressional Research Service, cumulative spending on means-tested federal welfare programs, if converted into cash, would equal $167.65 per day per household living below the poverty level," writes the minority side of the Senate Budget Committee. "By comparison, the median household income in 2011 of $50,054 equals $137.13 per day. Additionally, spending on federal welfare benefits, if converted into cash payments, equals enough to provide $30.60 per hour, 40 hours per week, to each household living below poverty. The median household hourly wage is $25.03. After accounting for federal taxes, the median hourly wage drops to between $21.50 and $23.45, depending on a household’s deductions and filing status. State and local taxes further reduce the median household’s hourly earnings. By contrast, welfare benefits are not taxed."

READ MORE:  http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/welfare-spending-equates-168-day-every-household-poverty_665160.html

Yes, This Is an Emergency

If you smelled smoke and saw flames rising from your small business, the first call you’d make would be to your fire department. Well, it’s time to dial Congress’ 911 number. The warning signs are clear—your small business and millions of others could get burned in the Fiscal Cliff negotiations unless you shout for help.

There is no more urgent act you can take today than to personally call your U.S. representatives and senators. Plead with them to answer the bell to protect small businesses from free enterprise opponents who don’t realize that increasing your taxes is like playing with matches.

If the anti-small-business forces in Washington win the fight to let the 2001 and 2003 tax relief measures to expire--if they yank the props from under the estate tax exemption so it falls from $5 million to $1 million and rates skyrocket to 55 percent--if they succeed in raising alternative minimum taxes on 31 million Americans and wiping out many vital small-business tax extenders--the impact on Main Street will be as devastating as a four-alarm fire.

READ MORE:  http://www.nfib.com/insight?roi=echo4-21292200735-18860315-aea72a56db762de4122c5c0eed82dab7&cmsid=61532&utm_campaign=Insight1206&utm_source=Insight&utm_medium=Email

(Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday released final rules for a new tax on medical devices, products ranging from surgical sutures to knee replacement implants, that starts next year as part of President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare law.

The 2.3-percent tax must be paid, effective after December 31, by device-makers on their gross sales. The tax is expected to raise $29 billion in government revenues through 2022.

Companies including Boston Scientific Corp, 3M Co and Kimberly-Clark Corp have been lobbying the U.S. Congress for a repeal of the tax.

A repeal bill passed the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives in June, but it has not been voted on by the Democratic-controlled Senate.

READ MORE:  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/05/us-usa-tax-irs-idUSBRE8B41GW20121205

Why Apple is investing $100 million in U.S. manufacturing

"Those jobs aren't coming back." That's what Steve Jobs said when President Obama asked him whether Apple would ever consider manufacturing its popular products in the U.S. But Jobs' successor, Tim Cook, has other ideas. In interviews with Bloomberg Businessweek and NBC News, Cook has revealed that in 2013, Apple will invest $100 million in manufacturing computers in the U.S. "I don't think we have a responsibility to create a certain kind of job," Cook told Bloomberg. "But I think we do have a responsibility to create jobs."

Cook didn't specify which product would be manufactured in the U.S., though it's been noted that the new iMac already bears the label "Assembled in the U.S.A.," making it a likely contender. Cook acknowledged that Apple won't literally make the products, but would continue its practice of hiring contractors to manufacture various elements. Cook also reminded his interviewers that some components — such as the iPhone's glass screen — are already being made in the U.S.

READ MORE:  http://theweek.com/article/index/237471/why-apple-is-investing-100-million-in-us-manufacturing

S&P downgrades world's oldest bank to junk status

AFP - Standard & Poor's on Wednesday cut its credit rating for troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena -- the world's oldest surviving lender -- to speculative-grade status of BB+ from BBB-.

The ratings agency said it was also placing the bank on negative outlook.

"Deteriorating trends in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena's financial position make it unlikely that the bank would restore profitability and improve its capital and funding position in line with our previous expectations.

"The difficult economic and operating environment we anticipate in the Italian market will compound the challenges for MPS to implement successfully its business plan," the agency said in a statement.

READ MORE:  http://www.france24.com/en/20121205-sp-downgrades-worlds-oldest-bank-junk-status

Online sales tax to be added to defense authorization bill

This may be the last Christmas of online shopping without paying sales tax.

A proposed online sales tax has been offered as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, much to the ire of opponents.

The Computer and Communications Industry Association, a group that opposes this move, says that an online sales tax will burden small businesses, “some of the most promising candidates for future economic growth.”

 “This proposal, and other online sales tax collection proposals like it, would allow states to penalize the innovative e-commerce business model by targeting small online businesses as convenient sources (and collectors) of revenue,” said CCIA President and CEO Ed Black.

The Marketplace Fairness Act, and its House counterpart the Marketplace Equity Act, seek to clarify, and arguably overturn, a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that requires retailers to have a physical presence in a state in order to collect sales tax on goods.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/12/04/online-sales-tax-to-be-added-to-defense-authorization-bill/#ixzz2F2lowxzb