By Alan Rappaport
Washington — After seven years of fitful declines, (click here) federal budget deficit is projected to begin swelling again, adding nearly $10 trillion to the federal debt over the next 10 years, according to projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that reveal the strain that government debt will have on the economy as President Trump embarks on plans to slash taxes and ramp up spending.
The new deficit figures will be a major challenge to congressional Republicans, who were swept to power in 2010 on fears of a swollen deficit and who have made controlling red ink a major part of their legislating under former President Barack Obama. Statutory caps imposed in 2011 on domestic and military spending have helped control the deficit. But those controls are likely to be swamped by health care and Social Security spending that will rise with an aging population.
Now, congressional leaders will have to choose between their fealty to the cause of fiscal prudence and the demands of the new president, who wants $1 trillion in infrastructure work over 10 years, a surge in military spending and large tax cuts for individuals and corporations....
Obama did more with less.
May 17, 2013
By Bernard Lambert
Monthly data published at the end of last week (click here) at the end of last week confirmed that at the federal budget deficit has fallen very rapidly. Over the first seven months of fiscal year (FY) 2013, i.e. from October 2012 to April 2013, the deficit reached $487.6bn, 32.3% less than over the same period a year before. This sharp improvement was mainly linked to a surge in revenues. Over the first seven months of FY 2013, they rose by a huge 15.9% y-o-y (+$220.1bn). Outlays also played a favourable role. Over the same period, they fell by 0.5% (-$12.1bn)....
Obama did more with less.
By Bernard Lambert
Monthly data published at the end of last week (click here) at the end of last week confirmed that at the federal budget deficit has fallen very rapidly. Over the first seven months of fiscal year (FY) 2013, i.e. from October 2012 to April 2013, the deficit reached $487.6bn, 32.3% less than over the same period a year before. This sharp improvement was mainly linked to a surge in revenues. Over the first seven months of FY 2013, they rose by a huge 15.9% y-o-y (+$220.1bn). Outlays also played a favourable role. Over the same period, they fell by 0.5% (-$12.1bn)....
