Non-political things that make you say...WTF?!?! (Welcome To Florida!) **NOT CV RELATED** NO TALKY!

Excerpt from my Governmental Accounting textbook for community college:

"A budgetary deficit does not necessarily indicate poor financial management. To provide a financial cushion to cover revenue shortfalls or unexpected expenditure needs, governments usually maintain a “target” ratio of spendable Fund Balances to General Fund Revenues in the range of 10 to 25 percent. If the cushion is larger than the target level, the city council (or other legislative body) may intentionally budget a deficit to reduce fund balances"

So if the government has too much money in it's funds, instead of lowering taxes or issuing a tax credit, they just increase spending to get back on target.

This isnt some conspiracy stuff, this is from my textbook in a class taught to government accountants and auditors (Im taking it for CPA eligibility credits).

 

Isn't that just approving additional projects / spending because you have extra savings ?

 

Yes, but I dont believe Governments are in the business of accumulating and saving revenue from taxes. It's as if government is creating expenditure to spend revenue, instead of gathering revenue to fund necessary expenditures.

One example is a few years back, Hong Kong ran a fund surplus and issued every citizen a dividend check of the surplus.

 

Oz I don't belong in the 40s thread, but are you going to spring for the timber?

 

Troll!!!! GTFO

 

I see what you are saying but if a surplus is funneled into addition infrastructure or similar programmes that benefit the taxpayer I don't see any big issue with it myself

 

I have till next week to decide

 

It may or may not. Increased infrastructure spending in surplus years will likely lead to unfunded expenses and liabilities down the road during deficit years. The threshold for spending will just increase along with the level of spending if governments work this way.

There are a lot of government built activities centers and other frivolous projects mid-2000s in California that got abandoned or sold after the recession. The reason the local governments built them is because they had so much tax revenue from inflated property values that they just had to spend it somewhere. Be it unnecessary capital investments or personnel increases (which just led to huge layoffs).

 

Good points , I was thinking more along the lines of transportation infrastructure but I see what you are saying

 

yup There's so much I want to blurt out in class but I'm afraid I'd get an F since the professor is a government accountant too haha.

 

Me too...
That fool wouldn't last a day in either the military or the police force.
How about they sentence him to boot camp and police academy, and a fat stint in jail?

 

You have no idea...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVT9-ULpM4M

 

It's not stupid if it works

 

No crossing swords!

 

This made me say WTF recently

 

^And you thought DCSB was useless.

 

justification for 30 round mags lol