CBO projects record-high $1.5 trillion budget deficit this year

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: USA Today

The Congressional Budget Office is estimating that the federal budget deficit will hit $1.5 trillion this year, another new record.

The non-partisan budget agency is also predicting that next year's budget deficit will drop to $1.1 trillion.

The new report comes a day after President Obama pledged to work with congressional Republicans to reduce budget deficits and accumulated federal debt.

It also comes as Congress soon decides on raising the federal government's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, a move some Republicans are resisting unless it is accompanied by major spending cuts from the administration.

Read more: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/01/cbo-projects-15-trillion-budget-deficit-this-year/1

[PoliticAverse]

1. "We do big things". n/t

[bergie321]

2. Prediction:

The Fox Propaganda Channel will blame Obama while ignoring the fact that the increase is due to the huge new tax cuts for the rich.

[No Elephants]

4. I thought we simply extended the old tax cuts for the rich?

[Psephos]

13. Umm, it was Obama who pushed for the extension of the tax cuts.

I couldn't care less what Faux says, given that I can already predict it to the word in advance.

It's critique from the left side that counts, and there is plenty of it over the craven advocacy by Obama on behalf of keeping the Bush tax cuts in place.

[Festivito]

3. Yet the debt's yearly deficit keeps going DOWN under Obama.

Notice how the usatoday/community gives NO NUMBERS for prior years.

FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 The Bush budget Obama took over
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 The first Obama budget where Obama reigned
FY2011 +1,578,076,265,323.24 PROJECTION by days left to Sep 30 2011, when the budget year ends.

In other words the ACTUAL deficit is going down under Obama and the right wing must contort itself in order to make it look like he is worse.

Check out debt to the penny yourself and do the calculations yourself -- you'll see.

EDIT: Goofed words deficit and debt, whew, fixed it.

[No Elephants]

5. So, how can USA say $1.5 trillion is a new record high deficit?

bloomberg says deficit for 2009 was 41.4 trillion.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aA8lChe4zUQU

Are you conflating "debt" and "deficit?" Where did you get your numbers?

[Festivito]

6. It would be another record for years ending in 1. /nt

[No Elephants]

7. ? Where did you get your figures?

[Festivito]

8. I post the debt each day at DU...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4710918&mesg_id=4711507

from debt to the penny...

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

.. the calculations are done in excel.

If one goes to the debt site and asks for Sep 30th of each year, one year at a time, one can copy and paste the the debt on that day to the MS calculator under start/programs/accessories and do the subtraction for ones self.

I do this because I am tired of the Republicans lying about the debt and where it came from.

[No Elephants]

15. You may be right about debt, but the OP article is right about the deficit.

[Festivito]

9. Note. Be careful when "they" use budget deficit as opposed to deficit.

The budget deficit can be much different, and was under Bush. Bush would not include war cost in the budget and would then have Congress pass and EMERGENCY addition. That made the Bush "budgets" look artificially smaller than what was actually borrowed and spent when all the spending did actually push the debt higher than the "budget deficit" would imply.

Hey, thanks for the interest. Gotta get back to work.

[CreekDog]

10. WTF, 41.4 trillion? you aren't even getting your numbers where you think you are

:rofl:

Bloomberg says deficit 1.4 Trillion not 41.4 Trillion :wtf:

even the debt is not 41.4 Trillion.

[Festivito]

12. Try not to get too excited there. Miss the shift key and $ becomes 4. /nt

[CreekDog]

14. Just ironic that it happened in a post that was supposed to be setting things straight

:hi:

[No Elephants]

16. And you could catch a typo because I DID give a link to where I got my numbers.

[Festivito]

11. Bloomberg pulls the budget deficit trick, 1.4T$ is the budget deficit...

That is the budget deficit as Bush made the budget for fiscal year 2009. With wars and other "emergency spending" Bush actually made the debt increase by:

FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30

That would be from debt to the penny from Sep 30, 2008 to Sep 30, 2009.

The guy at Bloomberg is playing us for fools.

Oh, you meant 1.4 trillion, not "41.4 trillion".

[No Elephants]

17. $1.4 trillion WAS the budget deficit last year--and no trick. Bloomberg and the USA Today OP

are both about the budget deficit and both are right.

Noting the budget deficit, especially a record-breaking budget deficit, is perfectly legitimate, as long as they are clear they are talking budget deficit.

Your point about the debt (assuming accuracy) is also perfectly legitimate, as long as you are clear you are talking about debt, not budget deficit.

Problem was, the subject line of your Reply #3 was unclear, especially since the thread is about the budget deficit, not debt.