U.S. Deficit to Hit 1.2 Trillion Dollars: Budget Office

[Hissyspit]

Source: AFP

US deficit to hit 1.2 trillion dollars: budget office
Published: Wednesday January 7, 2009

The provisional US budget deficit in 2008/2009 will balloon to a record 1.2 trillion dollars, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. The deficit for the fiscal year 2007/2008 which ended in September reached 438 billion dollars, or 3.1 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, the office said in a report.

However, the figures do not include the cost of a huge economic stimulus plan put forward by the future administration of president-elect Barack Obama which would cost upwards of 775 billion dollars.

According to the report issued by the budget office, the deficit will fall to around 700 billion dollars, which is still one of the highest budget deficits in the nation's history.

President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday reluctantly acknowledged that he would likely inherit an economy on course for a trillion dollar deficit as he takes office. "One of the measures of irresponsibility that we've seen is the enormous federal debt that has accumulated, a number that has doubled in recent years," he told reporters.

Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_deficit_to_hit_1_2_tril...

[bdamomma]

1. ..............

[indepat]

2. A $trillion here, a $trillion there, pretty soon you are talking about real money

[vinylsolution]

3. Amazing story....

... Not once is the name George W Bush mentioned.

Who, I believe, does have some connection to the state of the economy today....

[Festivito]

4. A look at the last 15 fiscal years.

Bush already spent 610B$ in the first quarter of FY2009. Aside, note, 1,017B$ in FY2008. If Obama only spends another 600B$ for the remaining three quarters, I say, good for Obama. That would make a fiscal year of about 1,200B$ or expressed in trillions, 1.2T$.

America's fiscal year ends: Sep 30 each year.
Borrowed in FY1994: 281,261,026,873.94
Borrowed in FY1995: 281,232,990,696.07
Borrowed in FY1996: 250,828,038,426.34
Borrowed in FY1997: 188,335,072,261.61
Borrowed in FY1998: 113,046,997,500.28
Borrowed in FY1999: 130,077,892,735.81
Borrowed in FY2000: _17,907,308,253.43 Bill alone
Borrowed in FY2001: 133,285,202,313.20 Bill and George
Borrowed in FY2002: 420,772,553,397.10 All George
Borrowed in FY2003: 554,995,097,146.46
Borrowed in FY2004: 595,821,633,586.70
Borrowed in FY2005: 553,656,965,393.18
Borrowed in FY2006: 574,264,237,491.73
Borrowed in FY2007: 500,679,473,047.25
Borrowed in FY2008: 1,017,071,524,650.01
Borrowed in FY2009: 610,787,163,994.70 so far this fiscal year with just over one quarter of a year spent.

INDIRECT SOURCE WITH FURTHER SOURCING:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Massacure]

5. I thought there was a year or two in there where Clinton actually reduced the debt?

[Festivito]

6. GHWB: 281, then Bill: 281, 250, 188, 113, 130, 17, then GWB: 133...

Notice that under Bill Clinton it goes where? Down.

The debt is made of a public debt, what we borrow from rich people, and the inside government debt which mostly contains our Social Security money we workers are not using yet. (We, collectively, pay in more right now than is used right now.) The government borrows this and spends it while owing it to us for later use. Hopefully.

The public debt did go down under Clinton.
And there was a Clinton surplus, it's just hidden because of all those people back then working and making lots of extra Social Security money.

As good as a surplus sounds, remember, it's kind of like you have a big credit card balance and the credit card company is doing so well they give everyone a bonus. Say you owe $5,000 and they give you a $200 bonus. Nice CC company (Don't ever expect this scenario to happen.).

My advice would be to use the $200 to lower your debt to $4,800 instead of $5,000 and pay less in interest. Others see a bonus and go nuts. I don't know why, it has a $12,000 credit limit. Pay it back and charge what you want if you must go nuts.

Let's not go nuts.