Budget Surpluses, Deficits and the National Debt

Budget Surpluses, Deficits and the National Debt:

News

U.S. Reaches Debt Limit: The Case for Long-Term Analysis 09/25/2007
The Senate will vote soon on legislation to raise the ceiling on the national debt to nearly $10 trillion. This action is imperative as the statutory limit of $8.965 trillion on the United States' level of public debt will be reached by Oct. 1, according to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Read More

Bush Administration Contradicts Itself on Tax Cuts 02/13/2007
A 2006 Bush Treasury Department report debunks many of the recent claims that the President's supporters have made about tax cuts. Read More

Despite Short-Term Gains, CBO Forecasts Grim Long-Term Fiscal Outlook 08/22/2006
On Aug. 17, The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released the annual summer update to its Budget and Economic Outlook report. In it, CBO lowers its estimate of the Fiscal Year 2006 budget deficit by 30 percent from its March analysis and now projects the year-end deficit at $260 billion. The rosy news, however, did little to assuage analysts' concerns over fiscal challenges looming on the horizon. Read More

Bush, Congress Hide True Costs of Permanent Tax Cuts 03/21/2005
Both the president and Congress have advanced five-year budget plans in 2005. These plans help to mask the true cost of policies to extend the president’s first-term tax cuts permanently, which explode after the current proposed budget window ends in 2010. Read More

Bush Budget to Increase Deficits $1.6 Trillion over 10 Years 03/07/2005
The Congressional Budget Office released its estimates March 5 for the cost of President Bush’s fiscal year 2006 budget, showing deficits increasing by $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years. The CBO report will greatly impact the way the House and Senate budget committees write their FY 06 budget resolutions set for markup this week. Read More

New OMB Watch Report Views Budget from Nonprofit Perspective 02/11/2005
The President’s budget that was released on Feb. 7 is not just austere; it is also frighteningly bleak for nonprofit groups and the people and causes they serve. The President has manufactured a fiscal crisis with massive tax cuts, mainly targeted to the wealthy, that has resulted in federal revenues being reduced to the lowest levels since the 1950s as a percentage of our economy. Cutting revenue to that level means there is drastically less money to fund programs that address community and human need problems, a core function of many nonprofits.

The Bush FY 2006 Budget from a Nonprofit Perspective (.pdf)

CBO’s Reduced Deficit Projections Mislead 02/07/2005
Last week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an updated Budget and Economic Outlook with new 10-year deficit projections for 2006–2015. The report estimated 10-year deficits to have dropped from $2.3 trillion to $1.4 trillion since last September, a 39 percent decrease. These conclusions, however, are very misleading. Read More

Halving the Deficit Will Involve Major Changes—or ‘Fuzzy Math’ 01/10/2005
Anybody who listened to President Bush speak during his campaign heard a few specific messages reiterated again and again, loud and clear. One addressed the federal budget deficit, which at 3.6 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) in 2004 was the highest it has been in over a decade. Bush has vowed to halve the deficit by 2009. He repeated this promise in a December press conference, stating he will cut the deficit in half while continuing to pursue both making the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent and providing “every tool and resource for our military.” Read More

Congress Raises Debt Limit, Fails To Pass Intelligence Bill 11/30/2004
While members of Congress were unable to complete work on the omnibus spending bill or the intelligence bill during the lame-duck session, they did manage to complete their work on the debt limit. Read More

Federal Spending Hits Ceiling Forcing Treasury to Act 10/18/2004
Last week, federal spending again reached the debt limit put in place by Congress -- the legal amount, above which the federal government cannot borrow. If borrowing exceeds this ceiling, currently set at roughly $7.4 trillion, immediate action is necessary. Treasury Secretary John Snow was recently forced to take action to ensure that normal monetary transactions can continue. Read More

A Tale of Two Deficits -- Trade and Budget 10/18/2004
In the past few days, the government released separately two numbers showing record deficits:

The final fiscal year 2004 federal budget deficit of $413 billion -- the highest dollar value on record
A monthly trade gap in August rising to $54 billion -- the second highest on record.

Read More

Congress Spends $146 Billion To Extend Certain Tax Cuts Without Offsets 10/04/2004
Congress voted to extend so-called "middle-class" tax reductions last week, and chose not to offset any of the cost of the $146 billion measure. In addition, the bill also includes $13 billion in tax cuts for businesses. When factoring in the additional interest costs, the bill will increase the deficit by over $200 billion. Read More

Deficit Hits All-time High, Many Corporations Don't Pay Fair Share 09/22/2004
Washington, DC, Sept. 22, 2004--The result of recent tax policy choices is that the 2004 deficit has reached an all-time high of $422 billion dollars. The Congressional Budget Office reported this month that only 11% of the FY 2004 deficit was due to cyclical factors, while 89% of the deficit was result of federal policy decisions. Not only is the current deficit the highest it has ever been in dollar terms, but in a recent analysis, OMB Watch Staff Economist John Irons projected that the deficit will reach $5.5 trillion over the next ten years. In addition, a new study released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) finds that many of the country’s biggest corporations are not paying their fair share of federal income taxes. Read More

Economy and Jobs Watch: Cyclically Adjusted Deficit Reaches Record High 09/21/2004
The cyclically adjusted deficit -- that is, the deficit adjusted to remove economic fluctuations -- reached an all-time high of $374 billion in 2004 according to a new report by the Congressional Budget Office. As a share of the overall economy, the cyclically adjusted deficit at 3.2 percent of GDP is at its highest levels since the early 1990's -- and has been exceeded in only 7 of the last 42 years (see chart below.) Read More

Return of a 'CYA' Budget Policy 09/21/2004
The long-ago defeated proposal for a balanced budget constitutional amendment is rearing its ugly head once again. Unable to pass a budget this year and having created near-record deficits, some members of the House are desperate to create the appearance of being fiscally responsible, and are considering bringing up a vote on the measure (H. J. RES. 22). Read More

CBO Updates Budget Estimates: Massive Deficits to Grow 09/07/2004
The Congressional Budget Office today released its semi-annual update on the nation's budget situation. The report confirms massive deficits for the current year and beyond. In addition, the report shows that deficits will not be "cut in half" in the next five years, as projected by the Bush administration. Read More

National Debt Limit Countdown 08/09/2004
On August 2, Treasury Secretary John Snow urged Congress to raise the federal debt limit without delay, and warned that the limit will be reached by late September or early October. Read More

Mid-session Review Presents Misleading View of Nation's Finances 08/09/2004
The White House's Office of Management and Budget recently (and belatedly) released its annual budgetary "Mid-Session Review," which attempts to put a positive spin on massive and worsening deficits, as well as the lowest level of revenue in nearly a half century. Read More

Mid-Session Review Confirms Continuation of Record Deficits 07/30/2004
Washington, D.C., July 30, 2004 - The White House's Office of Management and Budget today belatedly released its annual budgetary "Mid-Session Review," which attempts to put a positive spin on massive and worsening deficits and the lowest level of revenue in a half century.

Download full press release (.pdf) Read More

Good Riddance to Bad Policy: Budget Enforcement Bill Dies 06/28/2004
A conservative effort to severely limit domestic programs was soundly defeated in the House last week. The so-called "Spending Control Act of 2004" failed by a vote of 146-268. Read More

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