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More Tough Times for American Deficit

10.17.2005

Not as bad as the recent natural disasters on the public purse, yet the news from AP that $1 in every $5 (20%) given in loans to businesses affected by 9/11 has gone south, is bound to place even more pressure on the budget stateside. While the sum, $245 Million, is not very large in terms of the US budget, it is simply a microcosm of the larger picture which sees Bush unable, through some of his own doing and some not so, to reign in spending or raise revenue and performance to meet the demands of his now bursting-at-the-seams numbers.
There is surely some value in considering the fate of these business in the context of the US economy and system as a whole. If 20% of those with loans are struggling to pay back what they owe, it may be a reflection of possibly hardening climates for business in the US. If the most capitalistic of societies is struggling to generate business in sufficient quantity then the challenge to the global system is clear. Perhaps these numbers reflect other factors and that can be very easily argued though i suspect my suspicion has some truth to it.
Average figures for bad debt on similar schemes is $1 in $20 (5%).
RR


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