Rome burns, Obama fiddles!

Nero, I'd say we're in for the long haul. But too many other similarities say we are on a shorter leash than that.

October 1, 2009 11:23 AM
U.S. Begins Fiscal Year $11,776,112,848,656.17 in Debt

Happy New Year!

But leave the hats and horns in the closet. There's nothing to celebrate.

Today marks the start of the 2010 federal fiscal year. The only thing good about it is that FY'09 is finally over.

It was the fiscal year in which the U.S. suffered the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and government numbers reflected that.

It was as if a fiscal tsunami struck and flooded the nation with red ink.

By the time the final numbers are in for the fiscal year just ended, the federal deficit will have hit an all-time high in the range of $1.580-trillion. That's 11.2 percent of the total economy (GDP). The previous year's deficit was – by today's standards – nearly inconsequential at $459-billion. That was only 3.2 percent of GDP.

Over the course of FY'09, the National Debt soared as well from $10.124-trillion on October 1, 2008 to $11,776,112,848,656.17 as of Tuesday, the latest figure from the Bureau of Public Debt. That's an increase of $1.652-trillion – the single largest increase ever in a fiscal year.

More:

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/10/01/politics/politicalho...

Michelle Obama's 'Personal Sacrifice' to Boost Chicago

Thursday, October 01, 2009
Bret Baier

First lady Michelle Obama arrived in Copenhagen Wednesday to offer her support for Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics. Her husband will leave shortly on Air Force One to meet her there and make his case.

Thursday morning, Mrs. Obama thanked fellow Chicagoan Oprah Winfrey for joining her in the Olympic pitch saying: "We dropped everything — dropped everything — to be a part of this team." Praising the team work, the first lady said: "As much of a sacrifice as people say this is for me or Oprah or the president to come for these few days," the team has been working for years.

She says her reasons for wanting to bring the games to Chicago, include the impact it could have on young people.

Olympic-Sized Footprint

The effort and energy needed to make the president and first lady's quick trips to Copenhagen possible could be considered Olympic-sized by some estimates. The approximate cost of flying Air Force One round trip for 18 hours calculates to more than $1.2 million -- roughly $67,000 per hour.

The estimated greenhouse gas emissions of Air Force One for that trip amount to more than 1 million pounds of carbon dioxide. Compare that to a roundtrip on Amtrak from New York to Washington D.C. emits 220 pounds of carbon dioxide. The president's trip is the equivalent to 4,500 of those roundtrips.

The Boeing 757 the first lady rode separately emits nearly 374,000 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Those figures do not include the operational costs or emissions of the several passenger and cargo aircraft that accompany Air Force One with staff and equipment.

Copenhagen, by the way, will be the location for the climate change summit in December. No word yet on whether the president will attend.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,558842,00.html

They're gaining the world.