CBO projects budget deficit in fiscal year 2014 will be $492 billion.

[PoliticAverse]

As it usually does each spring, CBO has updated the baseline budget projections that it released earlier in the year. CBO now estimates that if the current laws that govern federal taxes and spending do not change, the budget deficit in fiscal year 2014 will be $492 billion. Relative to the size of the economy, that deficit—at 2.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)—will be nearly a third less than the $680 billion shortfall in fiscal year 2013, which was equal to 4.1 percent of GDP. This will be the fifth consecutive year in which the deficit has declined as a share of GDP since peaking at 9.8 percent in 2009

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/45229



Bloomberg.com story on the projection:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-14/u-s-deficit-cut-almost-one-third-to-492-billion-cbo.html

[KansDem]

1. Let's see...

Surpluses during the Clinton years; deficits during the Reagan, Bush I and Bush II years (huge deficits during Bush II years, no doubt due to his war based on lies, tax cuts for the wealthy, and the big bailout), and improvement during the Obama years.

You'd think the "Party of Fiscal Responsibility" would be humbled by these facts.

[rafeh1]

2. if stock market

Continues onits path proect a deficit under 200b by end of Obama s term. In addition with fracking and high mpg cars improving us gas average it leads to perfect storm on gas prices.

Prediction by end of Obama s term gas will be under $2.00 oil companies reeling and Houston economy tanking. Also small high mpg cars out of favor again due to low gas..

[bhikkhu]

3. Not to be unduly negative, but that won't happen

The problem is that production costs have been on an upward trajectory for years now. Supply is pretty good still, but if demand decreases to where production isn't economical, production decreases. Then supply decreases until it meets demand, driving prices back up. The futures markets are actually reasonably intelligent about smoothing that sort of thing out, and what you get is what we have - pump prices in the $3-4 range per gallon, which allows for profits to producers and an incentive to continue production.

One way or another, a decent economy supports higher gasoline consumption and a reasonably high oil price. Nothing is going to change that very much, except the long road to alternatives. Even there, alternatives benefit most and move fastest into a market where gasoline is expensive.