Treasury warns budget deficit up 13% compared to this time last year, debt reaching $34 trillion | Just The News
By: Nicholas Ballasy (Just The News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The U.S. government ran a budget deficit of $381 billion so far into the 2024 fiscal year, which represents a 13% increase from this same time period last year.
The deficit is $44 billion higher than it was at the end of November 2022, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Congress passed a "laddered" continuing resolution in November with a final expiration date of February 2. Conservative House Republicans have been calling for a reduction in federal spending to reduce the budget deficit. Congress must pass another spending bill to keep the government funded past Feb. 2.
The specific cuts the House GOP is considering remains unclear at this time, but any reduction in spending is likely to hit roadblocks in the Democratic-led Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has criticized previous GOP attempts to cut domestic spending levels.
In September, House Republicans were trying to cut annual spending by about $120 billion, which still would not balance the budget. Congressional Democratic leaders were critical of their approach at the time.
Senate congressional leaders are currently debating a foreign assistance package that would provide additional aid to Ukraine and Israel as well as humanitarian assistance for Palestinian refugees along with money for U.S. border security. Senate leaders said on Tuesday that both sides were closer to a deal, but a formal agreement hasn't been reached yet.
"With regard to the border discussion, I think it's pretty safe to say that we've made some significant progress, but we obviously aren't there," McConnell said at the Capitol during his weekly news conference on Tuesday.
On the House side, Republicans have argued that additional aid for Israel and Ukraine should be paid for or "offset" by equivalent spending reductions. Schumer has said that such foreign assistance does not need to be paid for since it is considered emergency spending.
Senators are still in Washington negotiating on the package but the House has left town for the holidays.
Scott Hodge, president emeritus and senior policy adviser at the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy 501(c)(3) nonprofit, said the U.S. Treasury reporting a 13% increase in the deficit compared to November 2022 shows the U.S. government continues to go down the wrong path when it comes to fiscal policy.
"It is being driven by federal spending, which is up by $152 billion, a 17% increase compared to the same month in 2022. The monthly deficit would have been worse if decent economic growth hadn't boosted federal tax collections by $108 billion, or 19%," Hodge told Just the News.
"The problem with the federal budget is basic math—the growth in spending continues to outpace the growth in tax collections. This is why our national debit is heading toward $34 trillion. It cannot go on forever without serious economic consequences," he added.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, shared a similar perspective on the matter. "The longer we allow our debt to worsen, the less room we ultimately have to respond to the kinds of global emergencies we're seeing in the world today," she said.
"This leaves policymakers with a choice: make the hard choices today by paying for our priorities and putting the national debt on a sustainable trajectory, or saddle the next generation with an even worse situation," she added.
The national debt in January of 2020 was $17.2 trillion, according to historical data from the Peterson Foundation. By contrast, the national debt is currently $33.9 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury.
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Tell me again how Biden is doing such a good job!!!!
Saying so is the gaslighting of the century
Wait....What....Biden reduced the deficit.
Taxing churches and corporations will fix that...
43 years of irresponsible gop tax cuts added up!
The Inflation Reduction Act included Biden's 15 pct minimum corporate tax. Biden has been spending all the new tax revenue before it has been collected. Biden has already broken the fix.
Looks like just another failure we can add to Biden's growing list.
You should really do research on how tax breaks actually generate money.
What is a ballpark figure for federal revenue?
Are you including both the Obama tax cuts and he made the Bush II tax cuts permanent.
Regardless, for tax cuts for the very rich.
Taxes should be less for working classes...
Yes, about half of Americans are too old, too young or too disabled to work. That has nothing to do with the working people being overtaxed in comparison to the very rich and big corporations that often pay no income taxes As a percentage of total income many of the working poor in American pay a much higher percentage of thier incomes in other taxes and fees. That doesn't even count the other taxes and fees passed on to them by landlords, cities, states and businesses...
Another way to look at it it:,:
And schools and colleges. Don’t forget those freeloaders.
Private for profit colleges? Yes, Do It Now!
Nope, no tap backs, no cherry-picking. All schools and colleges. Stop all the freeloaders and really fix the problem.
Man, you are really on to something here. You are smart.
Apparently you are not the only one who does not understand how stupid an idea yours is to tax our tax funded schools!
Judging by the fact you got voted up...
Perhaps you should explain why that's a stupid idea. Go ahead.
Apparently you are the only one who thinks taxing churches and corporations more is a good idea. 4 hours into your comment …. No votes
You also appear to be the only who doesn’t understand my comment on tax funded schools wasn’t meant to be taken seriously.
You truly are one of one JBB …..
And there is no debt limit. How did Republicans allow the country to get into this mess?
By giving the rich and corporations irresponsible tax cuts and spending like krazy when in power to stimulate the economy, even during good economic times, as part of the gop's long term plan to "Starve The Beast"! You know all this.
FY 22 budgets costs are:
Democrats/leftists need to look in the damn mirror. Republicans don't hold a candle to spending as compared to Democrats. Democrats never pay for their spending either. The amount of taxes they increase doesn't come close to covering the cost.
Democrats/leftists are the beast; and the beast is always hungry and out of control.
Not possible. At least for finding fault or shortcomings. Now to satisfy narcissistic tendencies? Oh yeah!
Don't worry a large portion of the billions going to Ukraine and Israel will be to buy US arms and munitions. Unfortunately defense contractors cannot keep up with demand now; so South Korea and Norway (I believe) will reap the rewards.
Well, it is true that 97 pct of the national debt has been created since Ronald Reagan was inaugurated. But Republicans haven't been the only party in control of government over the last 43 years.
The entire national debt of the United States was smaller in 1980 than Joe Biden's deficit for one year. Joe Biden's military aid amounts to about a third of the national debt in 1980.
Both parties have worked very hard to devalue the dollar so that the rich are richer. And Democrats are not opposed to tax cuts for the rich as the SALT deductions revealed. Maybe Republicans have been trying to Starve the Beast but Democrats have been the vultures picking the bones of the beast.
Everything is emergency spending according Congress (especially Democrats). When no real emergency (Israel, Ukraine, and Palestinian humanitarian/refugee crisis are not real crisis. The US had it's hand in causing all three. Pumping billions more into Israel/Ukraine and millions more into the Palestinian problem won't fix any of them.)
Nothing like a few hundred billion more in "emergency spending" to increase the debt and ramp inflation back up again.
They still haven't come up with a budget yet either. I am sure it will be a last second deal to avert "a crisis" Congress caused themselves in mid January and early February. One that will screw over average Americans yet again.