Obama budget deficit may triple deficit record

[philw]

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,25219571-31037,00.html

Obama budget deficit may triple deficit record
From correspondents in Washington, USAAgence France-PresseMarch 21, 2009 10:35am+-PrintEmailShare
THE US Budget deficit could hit $US1.845 trillion ($A2.7 trillion) this year under the Budget proposed by President Barack Obama, quadrupling the 2008 record shortfall, a new forecast showed.
The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency of Congress, said its latest Budget deficit estimate for fiscal 2009, which ends on September 30, would amount to 13.1 per cent of the country's entire economic output.

Since its early January estimate of a $US1.2 trillion ($A1.75 trillion) gap, the CBO said, the enactment of stimulus legislation such as the $US787 billion ($A1.15 trillion) stimulus plan and other measures to revive the economy, and other factors had added more than $US400 billion ($A580 trillion) to deficit projections for 2009 and 2010.

The new projections were based on a sweeping $US3.55 trillion ($A5.2 trillion) multiyear budget proposed by President Barack Obama's administration to Congress in February.

Mr Obama has acknowledged the size of his budget's deficit in 2009 would require "some hard choices'' on spending priorities.

The White House said the new CBO forecasts would not trim the Democratic President's objectives or thwart his plan to halve the shortfall by 2013.

"None of the numbers today changed the President's either objectives or his ability to achieve that deficit reduction,'' White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

Republicans grabbed the ammunition to push back against Obama's massive Budget package that teams tax cuts and heavy spending.

"It's worse than even the most pessimistic predictions,'' Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said.

The CBO estimate of red ink would dwarf the nation's record 2008 fiscal budget deficit of $US459 billion ($A670 billion), which amounted to a relatively tiny 3.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

"The shortfall in the nation's output relative to its potential is comparable with what occurred during the recession of 1981 and 1982 and will persist for significantly longer - making the current recession the most severe since World War II,'' the CBO said.

[runstowin]

Who cares? We in the States can spend more than we produce forever, and without any negative consequences.

[PegLeg45]

Who cares? We in the States can spend more than we produce forever, and without any negative consequences.

Yep....spend it before you make it.........spend spend spend......with minimal return........more programs....spend spend.....


Reminds me of the story I read once about NASA ........
spending millions to design and make a pen that would write in zero gravity, upside-down, all positions in any atmosphere........
While the Russians used a pencil.

[Ping]

Bingo Pegleg.