Word: surplus
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...thing you can say about the Kremlin ? it hasn?t lost its sense of humor. Just when you thought Russia?s economy was down the toilet, the government on Thursday announced a $51 million budget surplus. Yes, surplus. That bit of statistical good news ? which the government attributes to more efficient tax collection ? happened to coincide, as good news usually does, with decisions by the IMF and other creditors to extend a little leeway on debt repayment. "Different ministries are already quarreling about how real the surplus is because the budget was calculated at a much higher ruble-to-dollar...
...only the IMF that needs to be persuaded that things are getting better. Russians go to the polls in December to elect a new parliament and, notwithstanding its reported budget surplus, the Kremlin looks to be suffering a political deficit. It got more bad news Thursday as a new political alliance between presidential aspirant and Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov and a grouping of regional governors announced it had invited ousted prime minister Yevgeny Primakov to head its list of candidates. "The Kremlin is very threatened by Luzhkov?s new bloc, particularly if ? as is expected ? Primakov agrees to lead them...
...negotiation negotiation, both sides will be insisting all month that that?s OK with them. "Sometimes inaction is better than wrong action," said Trent Lott on Tuesday, sounding just like White House wonk Gene Sperling did on Sunday. If no deal gets done, this year?s surplus goes straight into debt repayment ? something nobody is against these days. And although Roth has a way with bipartisanship, a standoff seems the likeliest possibility. "Clinton has successfully sold his spending programs as more important than tax cuts," says Branegan. "The White House doesn?t feel it will have to give too much...
...breaks into new Universal Savings Accounts, which would serve as government-subsidized iras for low-income earners. The heart of the Administration plan is devoted to paying off the national debt and ensuring the solvency of Social Security and Medicare. Clinton would set aside a third of the projected surplus--or $374 billion--for replenishing Medicare funds that could otherwise expire by 2015. And he would put the interest savings that result from debt reduction into Social Security trust funds, which otherwise will run out by 2034. Moreover, sopping up red ink would ease the need for federal borrowing...
...course, debating how to use the surplus could be like haggling over the division of water in a mirage. Yet even if the estimates are a bit optimistic, the nation will still be faced with the problem of having too much money. "If we use the surplus wisely, we could cement our wealth for another couple of decades," says Sinai, who is worried that big tax cuts now would be premature. "The task for our society," he adds, "is to make sure we don't blow...