If you hoped the Trump administration would take some kind of action to slow down spending after running the biggest budget deficit in seven years in FY2019, you’ll be disappointed. In fact, the administration ramped up spending in the first month of FY2020. The federal government is on track for a $1-trillion-plus budget shortfall this year.
The budget deficit last month was 34 percent higher than the October 2018 shortfall, coming in at $134.5 billion, according to the latest Treasury Department report.
The October deficit continues a well-established trend. The FY2019 deficit was $984 billion and ranked as the largest budget shortfall since 2012. The federal deficit has only eclipsed $1 trillion four times, all in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
The $984 billion deficit in fiscal 2019 amounted to 4.7 percent of GDP. That’s the highest percentage since 2012 – in the aftermath of the great recession. FY2019 was the fourth consecutive year in which the deficit increased as a percentage of GDP. The debt-to-GDP ratio is estimated to have increased a hefty 26 percent over last year.
The Trump administration continues to spend enormous amounts of money. In October alone, the Federal government blew through $380 billion. That was an 8 percent increase over October 2018. Federal outlays were higher for defense, education, healthcare and Social Security.
This should come as no surprise. President Trump inked his signature on a bipartisan budget deal over the summer that suspended the borrowing limit for two years and increases discretionary spending from $1.32 trillion in FY2019 to $1.37 trillion in fiscal 2020. The deal then boosts spending again to $1.375 trillion the year after that. The spending plan – that Trump signed – increases both domestic and military outlays.
During the presidential campaign, Trump promised to deal with the skyrocketing national debt. In fact, he said he could take care of it “fairly quickly.”
Stay tuned for more excuses from Trump supporters.
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