Federal budget deficit swells in first 5 months of fiscal year as spending outpaces revenues

[Sub Atomic]

Source: AP

Federal budget deficit swells in first 5 months of fiscal year as spending outpaces revenues

By Jeannine Aversa
ASSOCIATED PRESS

11:05 a.m. March 12, 2008

WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department says the federal deficit swelled to $263.3 billion in the first five months of this budget year as record spending during the period outpaced record revenues.

The department's latest snapshot of the government's balance sheets, released Wednesday, shows that the deficit for the budget year that began Oct. 1 was up a whopping 62 percent from the red ink of $162.2 billion for the corresponding five-month period last year.

...

For the month of February alone, the government ran a deficit of $175.6 billion, a record for any single month. That was larger than the shortfall of around $170 billion that economists were expecting.

The White House predicts that the deficit this year will increase to $410 billion, as the economic slowdown cuts into tax revenues. Many analysts predict economic growth will be feeble in the January-to-March quarter; a growing number believe the economy is actually shrinking now. Under one rough rule, the economy would need to contract for six straight months to be considered in a recession.

Read more: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20080312-1105-federalbudget.html

[sinkingfeeling]

1. You won't hear a word about this on the evening news or in the papers tomorrow.

[Sodbuster]

2. Thats because there is nothing to see here.........

Move along. The economy is slowing a little, but everything is fine.

If the WH estimate is correct, that only leaves them $150 bln left to deficit spend for the next 7 months.
With the extra costs for the war, that doesn't leave alot of room.

[Sub Atomic]

3. But the costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are off the budget.

Those costs aren't included in the deficit numbers.

[onethatcares]

4. again, as I've been told,

tax cuts create an increase in tax revenue, which makes me want to bang my head against the wall over and over and over again.:banghead:

[FreeStateDemocrat]

5. This doesn't include the 200 billion the Fed created out of thin air yesterday.

[UpInArms]

6. it was all because of leap year, don't cha know?

:sarcasm:

[ShockediSay]

7. Forget the deficit; look at the national debt that Bushco DOUBLED

and the reason for the falling dollar, inflation, higher oil and gas prices.