Reply #18: US election war of words erupts over economy

[UpInArms]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061011/bs_afp/useconomybudget

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush put the US economy front and centre of crucial elections, lauding new data that showed the budget deficit tumbling to its lowest point since 2002.

Bush's announcement, less than a month before the mid-term congressional elections, sparked angry counter-claims from opposition Democrats who accused his Republican administration of "reckless" economic mismanagement.

The Treasury said the federal budget deficit was trimmed to 248 billion dollars in the 2006 fiscal year ended last month, down 71 billion from the prior year's figure of 319 billion.

Critics argued however that the shortfall was among the largest ever and that Bush had squandered the surplus he inherited.

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Some critics say the deficit figures are skewed because they include Social Security receipts that are effectively pledged for future retirement costs. If these receipts are excluded, the deficit would be a mammoth 434 billion dollars for the just-ended fiscal year.

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09/29/2000 $5,674,178,209,886.86