U.S. Economic News Roundup

Are we experiencing a U.S. Economy that's in recovery? We don't think so

Due to the current dearth of local red meat political news, we'll revert to one of our favorite ongoing topics, The Economy. Here's a sampling of some of the chirpy stuff we dredged up on that topic this morning whilst Googling:

1) Eye-popping article this morning from the Washington Times, with harsh words of warning about the perils of Obama's 2011 budget. Here's the lede:

President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget will generate nearly $10 trillion in cumulative budget deficits over the next 10 years, $1.2 trillion more than the administration projected, and raise the federal debt to 90 percent of the nation's economic output by 2020, the Congressional Budget Office reported Thursday.
In its 2011 budget, which the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released Feb. 1, the administration projected a 10-year deficit total of $8.53 trillion. After looking it over, CBO said in its final analysis, released Thursday, that the president's budget would generate a combined $9.75 trillion in deficits over the next decade.
"An additional $1.2 trillion in debt dumped on [GDP] to our children makes a huge difference," said Brian Riedl, a budget analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "That represents an additional debt of $10,000 per household above and beyond the federal debt they are already carrying.".

Read the full story here:

• CBO report: Debt will rise to 90% of GDP

This is a recipe for disaster, folks. There's no way that deficits of this magnitude are sustainable, even in the short run.

2) And here's a sobering "companion piece"from the Wall Street Journal, indicating that while federal debt skyrockets, U.S. personal income (you know - the federal revenue stream that pays the federal bills) is simultaneously swirling down the toilet. We incorporate the key opening paragraphs below:

Personal income in 42 states fell in 2009, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
Nevada's 4.8% plunge was the steepest, as construction and tourism industries took a beating. Also hit hard: Wyoming, where incomes fell 3.9%. [...].
Nationally, personal income from wages, dividends, rent, retirement plans and government benefits declined 1.7% last year, unadjusted for inflation.

Check out the full story here:

• Personal Income Drops Across the Country

3) Are we experiencing a U.S. economy that's in recovery? We don't think so:

• Mortgage delinquencies rise to nearly 14 percent

Have a nice day, folks! We do hope we didn't put you off your feed for the balance of the weekend.

And don't forget to throw in your own 2¢.