November federal budget deficit highest on record

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The federal budget deficit rose to $150.4 billion last month, the largest November gap on record. And the government's deficits are set to climb higher if Congress passes a tax-cut plan that's estimated to cost $855 billion over two years.

The Treasury Department says November's budget gap was 25 percent more than the deficit in November 2009. Much of last month's jump, though, was due to a quirk of the calendar determining when benefit checks are mailed.

For the first two months of the current budget year, which began Oct. 1, the deficit totals $290.8 billion. That's 2 percent less than for the same period a year ago. And economists had been estimating that the full-year deficit would decline after two years of record highs.

But analysts say the tax deal President Barack Obama reached with Republicans this week will give the 2011 budget year the largest deficit in history — $1.5 trillion, according to economists at JPMorgan Chase. It would mark the third straight year of trillion-dollar-plus deficits.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101210/ap_on_bi_ge/us_budget_deficit_2

[rfranklin]

1. How much of that is unnecessary military spending?

I would guess at least half of it.

[bossy22]

3. $150 billion

or how much is spent on the Wars in iraq and afganistan

[bossy22]

2. this doesnt make sense

all the tax deal does is keep the status quo while increasing some revenue through the estate tax, so how can the defecit increase with an expected increase in revenue and decrease in stimulus spending???? this just doesnt make sense

on edit: also if the CR is passed, spending levels will stay at FY2010 levels- an effective decrease in spending. I'm sorry but this article makes very little sense