{"articles":[{"id":6472,"title":"White House Projections Show Ballooning Deficit in 2019","html_content":"

by Causes | 8.3.18

The story

The White House’s midyear budget estimates that the federal deficit will surpass $1 trillion in 2019.

What is a budget deficit?

A budget deficit is when spending exceeds income. The term applies to governments, although individuals, companies, and other organizations can run deficits.

Why does it matter?

A deficit must be paid. If it isn’t, then it creates debt. Each year’s deficit adds to the debt. As the debt grows, it increases the deficit in two ways:

First, the interest on the debt must be paid each year. This increases spending while not providing any benefits.
Second, higher debt levels can make it more difficult to raise funds. Creditors become concerned about the government’s ability to repay the debt. When this happens, they demand higher interest rates to provide a greater return on this higher risk.

Context

According to our partners at USAFacts, a non-partisan, not-for-profit civic initiative aimed at making government data accessible and understandable, that would be a substantial increase over the $584.6 billion deficit in 2016.

The deficit’s most recent high point was in 2009, when it was $1.4 trillion. Since then it steadily dropped, reaching a low in 2015 of $438.5 billion.

When the Trump administration first proposed its 2018 budget, it had projected a deficit of $525.9 billion in 2019, ultimately saying it would achieve a budget surplus of $15.8 billion in 2027, according to USAFacts.

At the time, an estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office of the same 2018 budget projected a deficit of $689.0 billion in 2019, eventually reaching a $720.0 billion deficit in 2027.

Neither set of projections envisioned the deficit surpassing $1 trillion.

Meanwhile, federal government debt has exploded from $2.7 trillion in 1980 to almost $20 trillion in 2016, according to USAFacts.

According to The Hill:

\"Budget watchdogs said that deficits had doubled in recent years as a result of bipartisan spending agreements and the GOP tax-cut law passed in December.\" [link added]

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said:

“This is a striking acknowledgement following almost two years of claims that economic growth unleashed by these policies will wipe deficits away.”

What do you think?

Are you concerned about the growing budget deficit? If so, what do you think regulators should do about it? Hit Take Action to tell your reps what you think, then share your thoughts below.

—Sara E. Murphy

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / ratpack223)

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Since the day you were born, that’s always been on the cards. Most of us find it easier to bury our heads in the sand. Avoidance is the #1 most popular coping strategy in the world. We live in denial of the self-evident fact that we all die eventually. The Stoics believed that when we’re confronted with our own mortality, and grasp its implications, that can change our perspective on life quite dramatically. Any of us could die at any moment. Life doesn’t go on forever. If you say that you won't vote in the general election if your candidate doesn't win the nomination, you're saying to millions of people you think their suffering is an appropriate price for your righteous indignation.\nThere is NO moral justification for sitting out this election. IRL I am an environmental hydrogeologist. I specialize in municipal stormwater management and karst groundwater systems. 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I guess it was a bad idea to give the multimillionaires and corporations huge tax breaks while continuing to shaft the middle and lower economic classes. ","parent_type":"Article","parent_id":6472,"created_at":"2018-08-04T18:55:12.889Z","liked":false,"like_count":2,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/comments/497942","likers":"https://www.causes.com/api/v1/likers?likeable_id=497942&likeable_type=Comment"},"article_id":6472,"shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/comments/497942.png","note":{},"note_text":false,"note_color":false,"user_id":"0mLKnqVZ","liker_ids":["8mrvqvpm","9VbANzDz"]}}

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