U.S. budget deficit cut in half for biggest decrease ever amid Covid spending declines
Last edited Fri Oct 21, 2022, 11:53 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: CNBC
The U.S. budget deficit was sliced in half for fiscal 2022, the biggest drop in history following two years of huge Covid-related spending. Though still large in historical terms, the budget shortfall declined to $1.375 trillion, compared to the 2021 deficit of $2.776 trillion. The decline would have been steeper had it not been for the Biden administrations student loan forgiveness program. Education spending totaled $639.4 billion for the fiscal year, $408 billion higher than estimated.
The 2022 fiscal year saw $4.896 trillion in revenue against $6.272 trillion in outlays. The outlays number represented about a $550 billion decline in spending but an $850 billion increase in revenue. The revenue total is by far the highest ever for the U.S. government. Deficits in the previous two years soared as Congress shelled out massive sums to combat the pandemic. The shortfall hit a record $3.13 trillion in 2020 due to more than $5 trillion in CARES Act and other spending. In 2019, the deficit was $983.6 billion.
Prior to 2020, the highest deficit ever was $1.41 trillion 2009 as the financial crisis came to a close. The U.S. briefly ran a surplus from 1998-2001. In fiscal 2021, legislators passed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion spending package that the Biden administration said helped get the nation through a severe health and economic crisis, but which critics say was unnecessary and helped fuel the highest inflation rate in more than 40 years.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the budget statement released Friday provides further evidence of our historic economic recovery, driven by our vaccination effort and the American Rescue Plan. Yellen added that the results also showed President Joe Bidens commitment to strengthening our nations fiscal health.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/21/us-budget-deficit-cut-in-half-for-biggest-decrease-ever-amid-covid-spending-declines.html
Bet THAT gets buried in the ledes.
Article updated.
Original article -
In fiscal 2021, legislators passed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion spending package that the Biden administration said helped get the nation through a severe health and economic crisis, but which critics say was unnecessary and helped fuel the highest inflation rate in more than 40 years.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the budget statement released Friday provides further evidence of our historic economic recovery, driven by our vaccination effort and the American Rescue Plan. Yellen added that the results also showed President Joe Bidens commitment to strengthening our nations fiscal health.
Earlier this year, the White House pushed through the Inflation Reduction Act, aimed at a variety of areas including reducing medical costs, boosting clean energy and reforming the tax code. However, inflation has continued to climb, and administration officials have stressed the Federal Reserves primary role in fighting price increases through interest rate hikes.
FakeNoose
(32,767 posts)... start taxing the one-per-centers again. I mean, just asking them to pay their fair share instead of getting a FREE RIDE would make all the difference.
NCjack
(10,279 posts)years they escaped taxes on their incomes.
Tommymac
(7,263 posts)SergeStorms
(19,204 posts)But we can't expect any right-winger (even the poorest among them) to see it that way.
peppertree
(21,670 posts)iluvtennis
(19,874 posts)onecaliberal
(32,898 posts)Response to onecaliberal (Reply #3)
mahatmakanejeeves This message was self-deleted by its author.
GreenWave
(6,766 posts)They will focus on that.
RussBLib
(9,036 posts)They like simple
bronxiteforever
(9,287 posts)yaesu
(8,020 posts)OMGWTF
(3,976 posts)2naSalit
(86,794 posts)republianmushroom
(13,687 posts)It would decrease more if the co-vid loans had to be paid back and not forgiven.
jaxexpat
(6,849 posts)instead of being tossed out the back of a moving truck like paper towels after a hurricane.
Ford_Prefect
(7,921 posts)Oh that's right, they WANT to have financial doom so they can scare more people with it.