Get ready for some more bad economic news today. The Obama administration is expected to increase its estimate of the federal deficit over the next ten years by $2 Trillion, a move that will stir political debate and create more economic uncertainty.

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget is expected to forecast $9 trillion in deficits over the next decade, up from a $7 trillion estimate earlier this year.  The increase is largely due to lower-than-expected tax revenues as a result of the recession.

This tax revenue decrease, combined with federal spending on the bank bailout ($700 billion) and the Obama stimulus package ($787 billion) are the main reasons for the enormous deficit.

But government spending is expected to continue with more than $100 billion on unemployment compensation this year.  And if Obama’s proposal to provide health care coverage for more than 47 million uninsured Americans is approved, expect another $1
Trillion over the next 10 years.
sources: google.com, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal

Wall Street anticipated another dreadful jobs reports today and they got it. The news is actually worse that what experts were expected.

More than 250,000 Americans lost their job in October alone. That is more than 1.2 million for the year. The unemployment rate is at a 14 year high – at 6.5%. In September, that percentage was 6.1%.

Is the bad news over?
No, experts state that more than 484,000 Americans have stopped looking for jobs, believing there are none out there. That is very, very bad news for the economy.

The hardest areas hit include manufacturing, the service industry, retail, professional services and leisure. Areas least effected include Health Services, Education and Government.

It truly is a dire situation, especially with the holidays here.

Obama has a plan

Barack Obama, while campaigning for president, pledged to invest 150 billion over 10 years in “green” energy. This investment, he believes, will create 10 million new jobs; jobs that will stay here in the United States.

This would include investing in renewable energies such as wind and solar power. It also calls for investments in alternative energies such as ethanol, natural gas and hydrogen. He also wants to promote the development of the electric and hybrid vehicles.

The obvious question is where is money going to come from. But in these uncertain economic times, where is the money comes from is as important as getting the economy back on track.

It is obvious that Barack Obama has his work cut out for him. But the good news is he has the American people behind him, who share his vision and are willing to make sacrifices to get America back to where we once were.