Word: deficits
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...zeal with which the President has pursued his conservative domestic agenda has both united the Democrats as the party of opposition and severely limited their room for maneuver. As Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank points out, "The deficit is a great constrainer. If we had another $50 billion to spend, we would argue over how to spend it." From Dukakis on down, the Democratic gospel still includes ritual phrases like "unmet national needs" and "reorienting our priorities." But there is a hollowness to this rhetoric that reflects the barrenness of the federal cupboard. How could any Democrat today have the temerity...
...past half-year, the downsize dollar has finally done wonders for U.S. trade problems. By making American products more competitive overseas and foreign imports more expensive at home, the smaller dollar helped shrink the U.S. trade deficit to just $9.9 billion in April, the lowest in more than 2 1/ 2 years. But in the past two weeks, the dollar has climbed 5.9% against Japan's currency, to 133 yen at the end of June, and 3.7% vs. West Germany's, to 1.81 marks. That still leaves it 48% below its peak 3 1/2 years...
...long as the U.S. trade deficit keeps improving, the G-7 strategy will have plenty of supporters. But the dollar could tumble at the first sign that the U.S. trade position is not improving as much as the most recent figures suggest. "We've been on a roll," says Robert Hinton, a vice president and foreign-currency trader at Barclays Bank in Manhattan. "But if the trade figure suddenly goes to $13 billion or $14 billion, you can kiss the strong dollar goodbye...
...drought-inflated crop prices are a godsend for any farmers in areas of normal rainfall or for those who have silos full of stockpiled grain from previous years. In addition, higher crop prices could help reduce the federal budget deficit, since the Government will be liable for fewer farm-support payments (last year's total subsidies: $23 billion). Some of the savings, though, will be given as aid to drought-stricken farmers...
...however, lawmakers have already used the pension reserve for a far less noble cause -- to help mask a big part of the federal deficit. Since Social Security receipts count as part of the overall budget, congressional projections indicate that the deficit should gradually shrink from $150 billion in 1987 to $134 billion in 1993. Without Social Security's extra padding, however, lawmakers would be forced to admit an unpleasant reality: the deficit resulting from all other Government programs will actually grow from $170 billion in 1987 to $231 billion in 1993. Says Bosworth: "The basic budget deficit is getting worse...