Higher And Higher
Written by Brian Garst, Posted in Big Government
Administration projects the deficit to be even higher:
The White House on Monday raised its forecast for this year’s U.S. budget deficit by $89 billion due to the recession, millions of new unemployment claims and corporate bailouts.
The new estimate predicted a deficit of $1.84 trillion, or 12.9 percent of gross domestic product, for the fiscal year ending September 30. It updated the White House’s February forecast of a $1.75 trillion deficit, or 12.3 percent of GDP.
No, it’s not because of the recession. It’s because this administration is hell bent on vastly expanding the scope of government through corporate handouts, like the $80 billion pissed away at the auto industry, and new entitlement programs.
The White House’s projection for future years, that the deficit will return to 2.9% of GDP by 2013 (it’s at a frightening 12.9% at the moment) is not credible once you take into account the coming nationalization of health care, and the economically crippling legislation to pay back the unions (card check) and environmentalists (cap and trade).
With this spend-happy bunch in office, expect regular upward revisions to both spending and deficit projections.
I serve as Vice President of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, a non-profit think tank dedicated to preserving tax competition and free markets. This site features my personal views, which are not reflective of CF&P.