US hits second largest deficit ever at $2.77 trillion after 2 years of pandemic spending
The fiscal year’s
$2.77 trillion deficit may be the second largest on record, but the Treasury
Department claimed the decline from year to year as a sign of the economy
recovering.
“Under President Biden's leadership,
the U.S. economy is getting back on track and Americans are getting back to
work,” the joint report from the Treasury
Department and Office of Management and Budget said.
For the fiscal
year of 2020, which runs from October through September 30, the US posted an
eye-watering deficit of $3.13 trillion, approximately $360 billion higher than
2021.
Deficits before
this rarely reached such heights. Following the 2008 financial recession in the
US, the deficit for the fiscal year 2009 reached $1.4 trillion as the federal
government spent heavily to keep businesses afloat, similar to the
pandemic.
The report also
showed government spending has risen this year, as well as revenue thanks to
more businesses opening back up.
The Congressional
Budget Office has shown confidence in the numbers, predicting that the budget
deficit will fall to $1.15 trillion for the current fiscal year and continue to
steadily dip in following years.
Two infrastructure bills at a standstill
in Congress worth trillions, however, could change that forecast, though
President Joe Biden has continued to insist they will add “zero” to the national debt if
passed, claiming new taxes and revenues will balance things out.
The US is also
facing impending debt troubles, with Republicans and Democrats nearly at a
standstill this month over the issue of raising the debt ceiling amidst warnings
from Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen that the US could default on
its debts in weeks.
A short-term
solution was reached, but it has only pushed a more long-term vote on the debt
ceiling situation to December.
22 october 2021
https://www.rt.com/usa/538227-us-deficit-covid-19/
No comments:
Post a Comment