Deficit Tops $1 Trillion For First Time

Posted by: Staff in Fiscal Responsibility on Print 

With about 2-1/2 months to go in the federal governments fiscal year, the budget deficit has already reached a record $1 trillion for the year (more than doubling the previous record):

The federal deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time ever and could grow to nearly $2 trillion by this fall, intensifying fears about higher interest rates, inflation and the strength of the dollar.

The deficit has been widened by the huge sum the government has spent to ease the recession, combined with a sharp decline in tax revenues. The cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also is a major factor.

The soaring deficit is making Chinese and other foreign buyers of U.S. debt nervous, which could make them reluctant lenders down the road. It could also force the Treasury Department to pay higher interest rates to make U.S. debt attractive longer-term.

"These are mind-boggling numbers," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at the Smith School of Business at California State University. "Our foreign investors from China and elsewhere are starting to have concerns about not only the value of the dollar but how safe their investments will be in the long run."

The Treasury Department said Monday that the deficit in June totaled $94.3 billion, pushing the total since the budget year started in October to $1.09 trillion. The administration forecasts that the deficit for the entire year will hit $1.84 trillion in October.

As a reminder, 9-in-10 voters are concerned about the Democrat's exploding deficits, and 60% of Americans don't believe that President Barack Obama has developed a clear plan to with the budget deficit.