Topic: CNSNews.com
CNS editor in chief Terry Jeffrey makes some not-so-surprising omissions in a couple of recent articles on the federal budget.
An Oct. 1 article complained that "The federal debt increased by $1,271,158,167,126.72 in fiscal 2018." He went on to complain:
The $1,271,158,167,126.72 in debt accumulated in fiscal 2018 made fiscal 2018 the eighth fiscal year in the last eleven in which the debt increased by at least one trillion dollars.
The $1,271,158,167,126.72 increase in the federal debt was also the sixth largest fiscal-year debt increase in the history of the United States.
On Oct. 15, Jeffrey served up even more dire claims about federal spending:
The federal government collected a record $1,683,537,000,000 in individual income taxes in fiscal 2018 (October 2017 through September 2018), according to the Monthly Treasury Statement released today.
However, the federal government also ran a deficit of $778,996,000,000 during the fiscal year, according to the statement.
[...]
Despite the record amount collected in individual income taxes in fiscal 2018, overall real federal tax revenues in fiscal 2018 were lower than in any of the previous three years. In fiscal 2018, total tax collections equaled $3,328,745,000,000, according to the Treasury statement. That was less than the $3,446,613,230,000 (in constant September 2018 dollars) that the Treasury collected in fiscal 2015; less than the $3,415,674,450,000 (in constant September 2018 dollars) collected in fiscal 2016; and less than the $3,390,373,210,000 (in constant September 2018 dollars) collected in fiscal 2017.
While the federal government was collecting more income taxes from individuals in fiscal 2018, it was collecting less from corporations. Total corporation income tax collections in fiscal 2018 were $204,733,000,000. In fiscal 2017, they were $303,811,700,000 (in constant September 2018 dollars). In fiscal 2016, they were $313,233,700,000 (in constant September 2018 dollars); and in fiscal 2015, they were $364,738,790,000 (in constant September 2018 dollars).
However, two words are missing from each of those articles: Trump and Republicans. The Republican-controlled Congress passed, and President Trump signed, a tax cut bill earlier this yea, which cut government revenue, presumably cut the amount in taxes the government collected from corporations that Jeffrey laments and, yes, blew up the deficit.
By contrast, just like with unemployment numbers, Jeffrey had no problem calling out by name when writing about federal deficits during his administration. For instance:
- Obama Has Presided Over 5 of 6 Largest Deficits in U.S. History
- Obama Has Collected $19,966,110,000,000 in Taxes; Incurred $8,795,689,333,049 in Debt
- Debt Under Obama Up $9,000,000,000,000
- Obama Leaves U.S.A $9,335,000,000,000 Deeper in Debt
Jeffrey would never write a headline like "Trump Leaves U.S.A. $1,271,158,167,126.72 In Debt" -- he's too much of a Trump sycophant to tell the truth.
