Bob McLain: the Federal budget, spending, and budget cuts in context

by Bob McLain, WORD AM

WORD's Bob McLain will broadcast live from the floor of the Southern Home and Garden Show on Friday, September 30. If you have never heard Bob, he makes sense out of our world on a daily basis. Read on for a sample of Bob's wisdom:

The Jones Family Budget

On yesterday's show I talked about the web posting I found. It's a simplified explanation of just how much money the U.S. owes and our plan to pay it down. The U.S. Congress sets a Federal Budget every year that's in the trillions of dollars. Few people know how much money that is so here's a breakdown on spending in June:

• U.S. Income $2,170,000,000,000
• Federal Budget $3,820,000,000,000
• New debt $1,650,000,000,000
• national debt $14,271,000,000,000
• recent budget cut $38,500,000,000 (About 1% of the budget.)

Think of it in terms we can relate to. I've removed 8 zeroes from the numbers and pretend this is the household budget for the "Jones" family.

• Total Annual Income $21,700
• Jones Family spending $38,200
• New debt added $16,500
• Current total debt owed $142,710
• Amount cut from budge $385

So in effect last month Congress sat down at the kitchen table and like the Jones family agreed to cut $385 from it''s annual budget. They cut $385 in order to cut $16,500 in defecit spending. Will this work? You tell me.