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US deficit to hit 2nd-highest level
By Martin Crutsinger |
September 15, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE United States federal government is on track to record the second-highest deficit of all time with one month left in the budget year.
The deficit totaled US$1.26 trillion through August, the Treasury Department said on Monday. That puts it on pace to total US$1.3 trillion when the budget year ends on September 30, slightly below last year's record US$1.4 trillion deficit.
Soaring deficits have become a major issue with voters heading into the midterm elections. Republicans say the deficits illustrate the growth of spending under Democrats and show their poor handling of the economy.
The Obama administration contends the record deficits were necessary to combat the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression.
About one-third of the higher deficits are a result of a drop in government tax revenues. The other two-thirds of the deficit increases reflect higher government spending to stabilize the financial system and boost the economy.
Deficits of US$1 trillion in a single year had never happened until two years ago. The US$1.4 trillion deficit in 2009 was more than three times the size of the previous record-holder, a US$454.8 billion deficit recorded in 2008.
Last year's deficit was equal to 9.9 percent of the total economy - the highest percentage in 65 years. The deficit equaled 21.5 percent of the economy in 1945, at the height of the US involvement in World War II.
The 2010 deficit is expected to show only a slight improvement, dipping to 9.1 percent of the economy as measured by the gross domestic product. That would be the second-highest level in the past 65 years.
For August, the deficit totaled US$90.5 billion. The government has run deficits in August every year over the past 57 years.
The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting that the deficit for this budget year will total US$1.3 trillion, about US$70 billion lower than last year. The CBO forecast is in line with expectations of many private economists although it is above the administration's last official forecast, released in July. At that time, the administration projected this year's deficit would total US$1.47 billion, slightly higher than last year.
For 2011, the administration is forecasting a deficit of US$1.42 trillion with the red ink totaling US$8.5 trillion over the next decade. However, President Barack Obama has appointed a deficit commission to recommend ways to get the deficits under control. That panel will not release its recommendations until after November elections.
Through August, government revenues totaled US$1.92 trillion, 1.6 percent higher than a year ago.
The deficit totaled US$1.26 trillion through August, the Treasury Department said on Monday. That puts it on pace to total US$1.3 trillion when the budget year ends on September 30, slightly below last year's record US$1.4 trillion deficit.
Soaring deficits have become a major issue with voters heading into the midterm elections. Republicans say the deficits illustrate the growth of spending under Democrats and show their poor handling of the economy.
The Obama administration contends the record deficits were necessary to combat the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression.
About one-third of the higher deficits are a result of a drop in government tax revenues. The other two-thirds of the deficit increases reflect higher government spending to stabilize the financial system and boost the economy.
Deficits of US$1 trillion in a single year had never happened until two years ago. The US$1.4 trillion deficit in 2009 was more than three times the size of the previous record-holder, a US$454.8 billion deficit recorded in 2008.
Last year's deficit was equal to 9.9 percent of the total economy - the highest percentage in 65 years. The deficit equaled 21.5 percent of the economy in 1945, at the height of the US involvement in World War II.
The 2010 deficit is expected to show only a slight improvement, dipping to 9.1 percent of the economy as measured by the gross domestic product. That would be the second-highest level in the past 65 years.
For August, the deficit totaled US$90.5 billion. The government has run deficits in August every year over the past 57 years.
The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting that the deficit for this budget year will total US$1.3 trillion, about US$70 billion lower than last year. The CBO forecast is in line with expectations of many private economists although it is above the administration's last official forecast, released in July. At that time, the administration projected this year's deficit would total US$1.47 billion, slightly higher than last year.
For 2011, the administration is forecasting a deficit of US$1.42 trillion with the red ink totaling US$8.5 trillion over the next decade. However, President Barack Obama has appointed a deficit commission to recommend ways to get the deficits under control. That panel will not release its recommendations until after November elections.
Through August, government revenues totaled US$1.92 trillion, 1.6 percent higher than a year ago.
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