Posted on 10/25/2019 12:06:12 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The U.S. Treasury on Friday said that the federal deficit for fiscal 2019 was $984 billion, a 26% increase from 2018 but still short of the $1 trillion mark previously forecast by the administration.
The gap between revenues and spending was the widest it’s been in seven years as expenditures on defense, Medicare and interest payments on the national debt ballooned the shortfall.
The government said corporate tax revenues totaled $230 billion, up 12%, thanks to a rebound in the second half of the year. Individual tax revenues rose 2% to $1.7 trillion.
Receipts totaled $3.4 trillion, up 4% through September, while federal spending rose 8%, to $4.4 trillion.
The U.S. government also collected nearly $71 billion in customs duties, or tariffs, a 70% increase compared to the year-ago period. As a percentage of U.S. economic output the deficit was 4.6%, 0.8 percentage points higher than the previous year.
“President Trump’s economic agenda is working: the Nation is experiencing the lowest unemployment rate in nearly 50 years, there are more jobs to fill than there are job seekers, and Americans are experiencing sustained year-over-year wage increases,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a press release.
“In order to truly put America on a sustainable financial path, we must enact proposals—like the President’s 2020 budget plan—to cut wasteful and irresponsible spending,” he added.
Annual deficits have nearly doubled under President Donald Trump’s tenure notwithstanding an unemployment rate at multidecade lows and better earnings figures. Deficits usually shrink during times of economic growth as higher incomes and Wall Street profits buoy Treasury coffers, while automatic spending on items like food stamps decline.
Two big bipartisan spending bills, combined with the administration’s landmark tax cuts, however, have defied the typical trends and instead aggravated deficits.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
One thing Mr. Trump is not is a deficit hawk.
No problem warren will fix
Nice to always remember, these reports, need to be taken up with the House of Representatives. These budgets many times were sat up 6 years before hand, and the whole fiscal mess, lies at the feet of the U.S. Congress. They should be looking into THIS instead of looking for some 3rd party report of a phone call the President made to the Ukraine.
True, but increased spending is baked into the cake. When taxes are lowered, revenues increase, and politicians spend more and faster. It will never balance.
Also, it’s the voters’ fault, not politicians. If people truly wanted less spending and smaller government, we would have it. Republicans bleat about spending, but watch them squeal if anything in their districts or states is threatened. I’m afraid nothing short of financial catastrophe is going to stop the spending and debt.
Yep and if any politicians even suggest for 1 second we need to do something serious about this, the voters will lynch them politically.
We get what we voted for.
All spending begins in the House.
If the House refuses to cut the budget, God himself can’t do anything.
The fault is Obama, GWB, Paul Ryan and McConnell.
Let’s write off all student loan debt, push through Medicare for All, lower social security age and increase benefits, pass a restitution bill for African Americans, and make a basic income for all. Let’s get those numbers rolling!
If there is a surplus, Congress will make sure it’s temporary.
Look to the previous administration.
Obama set the spending standards of the government.
And the Democrats have controlled the House for almost an entire year.
The one silver lining to this, is that today the Nation’s Budget Deficit ratio to GDP is 4.72% vs 9.76% in 2010.
As our economy continues to grow, that percentage will decline further.
Congress really does need to cut down on the pork-barrel things each of our Congress Critters provide their districts.
I’d also like to see the half a trillion dollar welfare system gutted.
There are people who legitimately have a need. A whole lot of them don’t.
I think secretly the left doesn’t really hate President Trump as much as they publicly do. The Swamp is as swampy as normal.
You are right about that. Anytime a conservative politician proposes to scale back spending even a little voters are squealing like stuck pigs.
I guess Trump does not want to die on that hill.
The members of the Pork Congress won’t allow any funding for defense without getting their pork. Maybe we’ll see some effort from the Trump Administration after the 2020 election, but Congress will probably make it difficult then, too.
Hey arrogant idiots/war criminals/debt slavemasters/invader aiders..
List of grievances:
1) War (especially undeclared)
2) Debt slavery https://usdebtclock.org
3) Aiding and abetting invaders who harm our citizens...
100) (Your list may vary)
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlz3-OzcExI
I agree with that.
I’m not here to go after folks who have had a tough break and need some help.
Still, all in all it’s my belief that Welfare is intended to be a stopgap measure to help people get back on their feet.
In some instances it may have to become semi-permanent, but I have known people who needed to be on it for a while and then got off. They didn’t like taking that money.
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