10.14.2004

U.S. Deficit Grows

George W. Bush, Congratulations! You've got more bad news coming! Yes, while the Bush campaign would have us talking more about John Kerry's supposed "inability" to lead, Mr. Bush continues to run our country into the ground. Here's an article from Yahoo! about our growing national deficit:

The federal deficit surged to a record $413 billion in 2004, the Treasury Department announced Thursday, injecting the figure into a presidential campaign in which the two parties have clashed over President Bush's management of the economy and the budget.

The number was a significant improvement from the shortfalls that analysts projected earlier this year, including a $521 billion estimate the Bush administration made in February. In March, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Officeestimated a deficit of $477 billion.

Both the administration and the Congressional Budget Office had lowered their deficit forecasts as the year progressed, due to stronger than expected revenue collections and lower spending.

Even so, the final deficit figure easily surpassed the previous record in dollar terms — a revised $377 billion deficit run up last year. With inflation filtered out, the $413 billion shortfall was the worst since World War II.

The government's 2004 budget year ran through Sept. 30.

In a statement, Treasury Secretary John Snow cited improving economic data and said the budgetary improvement shows Bush is on track to halve the over five years as he has promised.

"All of this shows that the president's tax relief initiatives are having the intended effects," Snow said.

White House budget chief Joshua Bolten said while the shortfall was "unwelcome," it would be reduced "if we stick with the president's plan of economic growth and spending discipline."

Democrats disagreed. They argued that the $5.6 trillion 10-year surplus Bush himself forecast in 2001 has turned into deficits totaling a projected $2.3 trillion, a near-$8 trillion turnabout.

"This is the most fiscally irresponsible administration in history, turning record surpluses into record deficits in four years, with a plan to do more of the same in a second term," said Jason Furman, economic policy director for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

"There is simply no credible way to present the largest deficit in history as good news," said Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina, top Democrat on the House Budget Committee. "The Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House, but today's news proves again they have failed to control the budget."

The government spent $2.292 trillion last year and collected $1.88 trillion in revenue, the Treasury Department said.

The administration and congressional Republicans have discounted the significance of a deficit of this magnitude.

They say the more important measure is that the 2004 shortfall was an estimated 3.6 percent the size of the economy, well below the worst-ever 6 percent figure set in 1983 under President Reagan.

Many economists agree that such a comparison is more significant because it shows how affordable the deficit is for the nation. But many of them are uncomfortable with shortfalls of that size because the deficits are expected to worsen later this decade when the huge baby boom generation begins drawing on Social Security and Medicare.


The Republicans will try to paint this as a positive report, not negative, because the numbers aren't as bad as they were orginally estimated to be. I think the important part of all this is the statement that Republicans control every branch of government yet they can't pass a workable budget. As well, it's laughable that somehow they expect Bush, using current means(and with a war with no end in sight) can somehow halve this deficit in five years. It is to laugh.
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