US Budget Deficit and Interest Take Trip to the Moon
By David Haggith
TheGreatRecession.info
March 6, 2019
In my first Premium Post back in January, “2019 Economic Headwinds Look Like Storm of the Century,” I laid out sixteen major headwinds that would be howling against the economy this year. One of those was the government debt, which I said was about to skyrocket:
“If you thought the government deficit exploded last year when taxes were cut and spending was increased, wait until you see how bad it looks this year…. Even in 2018, we saw GDP decline after the second quarter, so the idea that the stimulus effect of tax breaks will start to pay for those tax breaks is an idea that went bust after the second quarter. The fourth quarter is actually expected to come in no better than an average OBAMA quarter! “
And, so, the fourth quarter did come in no better than an average Obama quarter, and today we got to see just how bad the deficit did explode as a result. The US Treasury reported a total blow-out in the government deficit. The first four months of the fiscal year lit up the afterburners, adding a 77% boost to last year’s massive deficit.
“The budget deficit for the first four months of the fiscal year, widened to $310 billion, a whopping 77% higher than the $175.7 billion reported for the same period last year, largely the result of the revenue hit from Trump’s tax cuts and the increase in government spending…. The jump in the deficit was despite the bump in customs duties, which almost doubled to about $24.5 billion this fiscal year from $12.6 billion a year ago, reflecting the Trump administration’s tariffs on Chinese imports.
The Rest…HERE
