sixdollarchampagne
29th July 2008, 08:00
[From Le Monde]
The US revises its 2009 budget deficit upwards
LEMONDE dot FR with AFP | 28.07.08 | 19:30 hours • Updated 28.07.08 | 20:30 hours [Edited]
The White House has revised its prediction of next year’s (fiscal year October 2008 – September 2009) US budget deficit upwards; the deficit should hit the record level of $490 billion (311.18 billion euros), according to a highly-placed government official, speaking on Monday, July 28….
For the current fiscal year, on the other hand, the White House has revised downwards its forecast of a deficit to less than $400 billion dollars (against the $407 billion deficit initially forecast), the highly-placed anonymous official specified, speaking shortly before publication of a White House Budget Bureau report.
The weight of the stimulus plan
For her part, White House representative Dana Perino was careful not to confirm these figures officially, but she did not contradict them, noting the role played in the deficit increase by the economic stimulus plan adopted at the beginning of the year. "I remember at the time, when we were talking about the stimulus plan, both parties assumed that the deficit would increase and that would be the price to pay for improving the economic situation," she explained in front of the press. However, she asserted that the administration continued to believe that it could reach President Bush’s goal of restoring a balanced budget between now and 2012.
Many economists were expecting a revision upwards of next year’s budget deficit because of the deterioration of the economic situation and the weight of the vast stimulus plan on public finances, initially estimated at $168 billion over two years. On arriving at the White House, Bush found a budget surplus, but his tax reduction programs, war against terrorism and the consequences of the 2001 recession quickly put accounts in the red. Each year, the deficit grew, to a record $413 billion in 2004, before progressively shrinking. For fiscal year 2007, the budget deficit settled at $162 billion.
The US revises its 2009 budget deficit upwards
LEMONDE dot FR with AFP | 28.07.08 | 19:30 hours • Updated 28.07.08 | 20:30 hours [Edited]
The White House has revised its prediction of next year’s (fiscal year October 2008 – September 2009) US budget deficit upwards; the deficit should hit the record level of $490 billion (311.18 billion euros), according to a highly-placed government official, speaking on Monday, July 28….
For the current fiscal year, on the other hand, the White House has revised downwards its forecast of a deficit to less than $400 billion dollars (against the $407 billion deficit initially forecast), the highly-placed anonymous official specified, speaking shortly before publication of a White House Budget Bureau report.
The weight of the stimulus plan
For her part, White House representative Dana Perino was careful not to confirm these figures officially, but she did not contradict them, noting the role played in the deficit increase by the economic stimulus plan adopted at the beginning of the year. "I remember at the time, when we were talking about the stimulus plan, both parties assumed that the deficit would increase and that would be the price to pay for improving the economic situation," she explained in front of the press. However, she asserted that the administration continued to believe that it could reach President Bush’s goal of restoring a balanced budget between now and 2012.
Many economists were expecting a revision upwards of next year’s budget deficit because of the deterioration of the economic situation and the weight of the vast stimulus plan on public finances, initially estimated at $168 billion over two years. On arriving at the White House, Bush found a budget surplus, but his tax reduction programs, war against terrorism and the consequences of the 2001 recession quickly put accounts in the red. Each year, the deficit grew, to a record $413 billion in 2004, before progressively shrinking. For fiscal year 2007, the budget deficit settled at $162 billion.