U.S. Deficit Mounts to All-Time High

[kskiska]

With only one month left in the fiscal year, the U.S. budget deficit moved further into record territory, passing the $400 billion mark for the first time, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.

A shortfall of $76.48 billion dollars last month, while a bit less than expected in financial markets, pushed the fiscal 2003 year-to-date budget gap up to $400.46 billion, a report from the Treasury said.

With the fiscal year drawing to a close at the end of this month, the August figure suggested the 2003 budget gap would handily outstrip the previous record of $290 billion set in 1992.

(snip)

U.S. fiscal fortunes have shifted sharply in recent years.

When President Bush took the reins at the White House in January 2001, budget analysts forecast annual surpluses well into the future.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25072-2003Sep17.html