The good news-bad news story of the day:
The U.S. government posted an unexpectedly large budget surplus in June, a further sign of the rapid improvement in public finances that has taken the heat off Congress to find savings and raise the nation's borrowing limit.
Rising tax revenue, public spending cuts and big payments to the Treasury from government-backed mortgage companies helped the government take in $117 billion more last month than it paid out, the U.S. Treasury said on Thursday.
The good news is that, yes, it is possible for the government to behave responibly. The bad news is that when being responsible pays off, they see it not as a sign to keep up the good work but as something that "takes the heat off" so they can get back to their profligate ways.
