Dolphins9954
04-13-2012, 02:31 PM
The federal government racked up a deficit of $777 billion in the first half of fiscal 2012, the Congressional Budget Office said in an estimate released Friday.
The shortfall is the latest sign that the government is well on its way to compiling at least a $1 trillion deficit for the fourth consecutive year.
But as CBO noted on Friday, the deficit is also a $53 billion reduction from the same period in fiscal 2011.
The budget scorekeeper said that most of the $46 billion jump in revenues — a 4.5 percent increase — was due to corporations making higher tax payments or receiving a smaller refund.
CBO also said that spending in a variety of areas — Medicaid, education and unemployment insurance, among others — also fell during the first six months of the fiscal year.
The budget office’s release comes as budget deficits are poised to play a key role in this year’s election, and weeks after CBO estimated that the 2012 deficit would be roughly $1.2 trillion.
The 2012 deficit is now expected to be some $93 billion higher than earlier expected, in large part because of the extension of the payroll tax cut for workers.
On Capitol Hill, House Republicans recently passed a budget that would cut $5 trillion more than President Obama’s 2013 framework.
Obama slammed that proposal, largely crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), in a speech this week, saying that he was employing a centrist approach while the GOP approach was radical.
“This congressional Republican budget is something different altogether. It is a Trojan horse,” Obama said Tuesday. “Disguised as deficit-reduction plans, it is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country.”
For their part, Ryan and other Republicans have cast Obama as not being serious about reining in deficits.
“Our country faces serious economic and fiscal challenges,” House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in response to Obama’s speech. “Americans continue to be disappointed that the president is shrinking from those challenges rather than displaying the courage needed to solve them.”
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Sound fiscal policy.
The shortfall is the latest sign that the government is well on its way to compiling at least a $1 trillion deficit for the fourth consecutive year.
But as CBO noted on Friday, the deficit is also a $53 billion reduction from the same period in fiscal 2011.
The budget scorekeeper said that most of the $46 billion jump in revenues — a 4.5 percent increase — was due to corporations making higher tax payments or receiving a smaller refund.
CBO also said that spending in a variety of areas — Medicaid, education and unemployment insurance, among others — also fell during the first six months of the fiscal year.
The budget office’s release comes as budget deficits are poised to play a key role in this year’s election, and weeks after CBO estimated that the 2012 deficit would be roughly $1.2 trillion.
The 2012 deficit is now expected to be some $93 billion higher than earlier expected, in large part because of the extension of the payroll tax cut for workers.
On Capitol Hill, House Republicans recently passed a budget that would cut $5 trillion more than President Obama’s 2013 framework.
Obama slammed that proposal, largely crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), in a speech this week, saying that he was employing a centrist approach while the GOP approach was radical.
“This congressional Republican budget is something different altogether. It is a Trojan horse,” Obama said Tuesday. “Disguised as deficit-reduction plans, it is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country.”
For their part, Ryan and other Republicans have cast Obama as not being serious about reining in deficits.
“Our country faces serious economic and fiscal challenges,” House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in response to Obama’s speech. “Americans continue to be disappointed that the president is shrinking from those challenges rather than displaying the courage needed to solve them.”
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Sound fiscal policy.