Budget surplus

“ Q There is, however, a limited amount of dollars in that surplus. Listen, the President's message is that we can have it all. We can have the debt reduction, we can have his big tax cut, we can have education, defense and other increases. We're in that kind of time frame in our history where we can have it all. MR. FLEISCHER: Well, frankly, we are a fortunate nation that we can wrestle with the reality of budget surpluses for as far as the eye can see. That is what the estimates tell us. We have money in the bank. There is an operating budget surplus, set aside all of Social Security's money. ”

“ The object of thrift in spending is both to get the greatest value for our money now and to insure savings that will provide for the future. Every budget should make as definite provision for savings as for rent or clothing. The purpose of a budget and of accounts is to assure a surplus rather than a deficit. Successful men and women make it a practice always to spend less than they earn, no matter how little they earn, and they cannot be sure of this without planning ahead and keeping accounts. ”

“ Well, we are looking at a budget that will increase government spending by a more moderate amount then has been done in the past. Spending will go up, but it will just not go up anywhere near as much as it had been going up previously. And no matter how you define it, that is an increase. What's important is the best way to preserve the surplus, pay down the debt and allow the American people to get their taxes cut is to start a new way of spending, which is to have much more reasonable and moderate rates of spending. ”

“ The spending goes up, but it goes up at a reasonable level. The risk to the surplus and the risk to the economy, if Congress goes beyond the levels recommended by the President, and squanders the surplus on bigger spending. That's the risk to the economy, and that's why it's so important for Congress to continue, as they have been doing, to honor the budget agreement so far through the appropriations process. Q That spending number is predicated on your budget assumptions which are higher than those of the CBO and higher than those of the median economists. ”

“ We must continue to budget our resources and budget them responsibly in a way that will preserve our prosperity and will strengthen our dollar.
Greater revenues and the reduced Federal spending required by Congress last year have changed the budgetary picture dramatically since last January when we made our estimates. At that time, you will remember that we estimated we would have a deficit of $8 billion. Well, I am glad to report to you tonight that the fiscal year ending June 30, 1969, this June, we are going to have not a deficit, but we are going to have a $2.4 billion surplus. ”

“ The Economic Report, which I shall submit to the Congress shortly, will discuss in detail the economic background for these recommendations.
One of the most important factors in maintaining prosperity is the Government's fiscal policy. At this time, it is essential not only that the Federal budget be balanced, but also that there be a substantial surplus to reduce inflationary pressures, and to permit a sizable reduction in the national debt, which now stands at $252 billion. ”

“ Just as we trust Americans with their own money, we need to earn their trust by spending their tax dollars wisely. Next week, I'll send you a budget that terminates or substantially reduces 151 wasteful or bloated programs, totaling more than $18 billion. The budget that I will submit will keep America on track for a surplus in 2012. American families have to balance their budgets ”

“ The surplus is created as a result of growth. And growth is created as a result of the decisions the government makes, which are reflected in the budget. And in this case, the decision by the President, as well as the Congress and the many Democrats who supported the tax relief package, will help create an environment in which growth will take place as a result of the stimulative effect of a tax cut which is only now going into the effect in the economy. ”

“ We'll see what the exact numbers are from the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office in approximately three to four weeks. All indications are that, not only will the surplus be the second-largest in American history, but that this year the United States will have paid down more than $100 billion in debt. So, while the economy has weakened, the economic big picture continues to look strong on the budget front. ”

“ There is $1.7 trillion less debt held by the public today than was forecast in 1993. This has contributed to lower interest rates, record business investment, greater productivity growth, low inflation, low unemployment, and broad-based growth in real wages—and the first back-to-back budget surpluses in almost half a century. ”

“ The income of government has increased four times and our budget accord­ingly. Government receipts have expanded more rapidly than government ex­penditures, resulting in significant accumulations of budgetary surpluses. While other countries have suffered deficits since 1973. our country has always had a budgetary surplus, even as we increased government spending in essential services and economic activity. As of 1974, we had a budgetary surplus of P646 million.
Overall, economic performances during the third year of the program of the New Society has been creditable. ”

“ And that is we change the desired funding level that we do so through paying for it, just as each and every family does in this country. They had "pay as you go" for quite some time and the economy grew, jobs were created and the budget deficit shrank. ”

“ As expressed by the minister of finance in 1973, the budget contains a whole arsenal of financial and economic levers—levers that must be used ever more skillfully to raise the efficiency of economic performance, to improve the structure of production and consumption, and to bring about a well-balanced economy. The budget is also considered a tool for exercising effective control over the entire sphere of production and services, not only to ensure smooth current operations but also to inhibit any undesirable departures from official policy. ”

“ As you know, I have spent the last week in intense discussion with congressional leaders over how to balance the budget in 7 years. It's important to balance the budget to lift the burden of debt from future generations.
In the last 3 years, we've cut our deficit in half, and we need to finish the job. But we have to balance the budget in a way that reflects our most fundamental values: increasing opportunity; asking everyone to assume responsibility; strengthening our families and the economy ”

“ Are our government revenues increasing at a rate which gives hope that within a reasonably short period we shall be able to finance all our ordinary expenditures with current revenues and thereby balance our budget? ”

“ The savings in my budget are critical in helping us to keep our economy growing and creating jobs. Now members of Congress need to come together and send me a budget that funds our priorities, ensures that taxes stay low, and keeps us on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009. ”

“ The only other alternative would have been to cut our essential develop­ment investment to a point where the budget would be balanced with no risk of inflation but at which economic forces would be at a standstill. ”

“ Last Wednesday night I went on television to explain to you the budget decisions we must make. Our greatest challenge is bringing down deficit spending and doing it in a way which will keep our economy vigorous and expanding. ”

“ My budget will reduce our deficits not with aimless, reckless spending cuts that hurt students and seniors and middle-class families – but through the balanced approach that the American people prefer, and the investments that a growing economy demands. ”

“ But getting the deficit under control is just a means to an end. The main purpose of this budget, and of our four year strategy, is the creation of jobs for our people. Jobs are central to this budget because work plays such a central role in our lives. Work provides focus; work gives us independence; work gives our families hope and confidence. ”

“ Government efficiency and economy remain essential to steady progress toward a balanced budget. More than ten billion dollars were cut from the spending program proposed in the budget of January 9, 1953. ”

“ First, we should sit down and pursue a balanced approach to a responsible budget, one that grows our economy faster and shrinks our long-term deficits further. There is no choice between growth and fiscal responsibility – we need both. ”

“ It is a budget that carries an enormous investment of human time and effort; indeed, I believe, the most exhaustive effort ever made to rein in government's chronic overspending. Every proposal is based on a careful review of what government should and should not do, what's worked and what hasn't, what we can and can no longer afford. Collectively, the more than 50 proposals we are making can stop the excessive growth of Federal spending in its tracks and put budget deficits on a permanent downward path. ”

“ In time of high employment and a strong economy, deficit spending should not be a feature of our budget. As the economy continues to gain strength and as our unemployment rates continue to fall, revenues will grow. With careful planning, efficient management, and proper restraint on spending, we can move rapidly toward a balanced budget, and we will. ”

“ Balancing the budget by reducing government spending is the one piece left to put into place if we're to keep our prosperity going strong in the years to come.
For years, we've piled deficit on top of deficit, mortgaging our future and that of future generations. ”

“ We can get them done, but only in the context of a realistic, responsible, balanced budget, one that maintains our fiscal discipline and makes the most of this great moment of prosperity. Now, that's a budget that makes sense, one that works for working Americans. ”

“ First, we must keep our Nation prosperous. We seek full employment opportunity for every American citizen. I will present a budget designed to move the economy forward. More money will be left in the hands of the consumer by a substantial cut in excise taxes. We will continue along the path toward a balanced budget in a balanced economy.
I confidently predict--what every economic sign tells us tonight--the continued flourishing of the American economy.
But we must remember that fear of a recession can contribute to the fact of a recession. ”

“ We must make sure that our economy grows faster than the growth in spending by the Federal Government. In our fiscal year 1986 budget, overall government program spending will be frozen at the current level. ”

“ We submitted our budget to Congress, a budget designed to do just what we pledged during the election: tackle the deficits by cutting spending where it's wasteful, where it is not urgent, and where it subsidizes some people at everyone else's expense. ”

“ To minimize the danger of future soaring prices and to keep our economy sound and expanding, I shall present to the Congress certain proposals.
First, I shall submit a balanced budget for the next year, a year expected to be the most prosperous in our history. It is a realistic budget with wholly attainable objectives.
If we cannot live within our means during such a time of rising prosperity, the hope for fiscal integrity will fade. If we persist in living beyond our means, we make it difficult for every family in our land to balance its own household budget. ”

“ A government draws the breath of life from its finances, and it must balance its income and expenditures as any other going business concern if it expects to survive. It is my duty, then, to see that the Government of the Commonwealth live within its means and that it stands foursquare on a well balanced budget. ”

“ For every dollar saved in cutting the growth in the Federal budget, we can have an added dollar of Federal tax reduction.
We can achieve a balanced budget by 1979 if we have the courage and the wisdom to continue to reduce the growth of Federal spending.
One test of a healthy economy is a job for every American who wants to work. Government--our kind of government--cannot create that many jobs. But the Federal Government can create conditions and incentives for private business and industry to make more and more jobs. ”

“ We won't bust the budget to pay for tax cuts. We'll cut spending and close corporate loopholes. That way we'll keep interest rates coming down as we balance the budget, so the economy can grow even faster and stronger. ”

“ This Administration has directed constant efforts toward fiscal responsibility. Balanced budgets have been sought when the economy was advancing, and a rigorous evaluation of spending programs has been maintained at all times. Resort to deficit financing in prosperous times could easily erode international confidence in the dollar and contribute to inflation at home. In this belief, I shall submit a balanced budget for fiscal 1962 to the Congress next week. ”

“ The Grace commission has given us some 2,500 recommendations for reducing wasteful spending, and they're being examined throughout the administration. Federal spending growth has been cut from 17.4 percent in 1980 to less than half of that today, and we have already achieved over $300 billion in budget savings for the period of 1982 to '86. But that's only a little more than half of what we sought. Government is still spending too large a percentage of the total economy. ”

“ This week, I’ll send a budget to Congress that will help do just that – a fiscally-responsible blueprint for middle-class jobs and growth.
For years, an argument in Washington has raged between reducing our deficits at all costs, and making the investments we need to grow the economy. My budget puts that argument to rest. Because we don’t have to choose between these goals – we can do both. After all, as we saw in the 1990s, nothing reduces deficits faster than a growing economy. ”