Report: U.S. Deficit Has Surged 25% In First Four Months Of Fiscal Year 2020
JakeThomas
President Donald Trump insisted in 2017 that his massive tax cuts would pay for themselves, but two years in, the federal government is only sinking deeper into the red.
According to CNBC, the federal budget deficit is already averaging nearly $100 billion a month for 2020, with Treasury Department data showing a shortfall of $389.2 billion for the first four months of the fiscal year.
This amounts to a 25 percent increase over the same period last year, the news outlet noted, and “already about 40% of the total deficit for fiscal 2019.”
Tax revenue through January came in at $1.18 trillion — which is up from the $1.1 trillion from the year before — but spending well exceeded revenue, hitting $1.57 trillion.
CNBC noted that “Trump has insisted that economic growth would cover the cost of the tax cuts,” but while “GDP rose 2.9% in 2018, it slowed to 2.3% in 2019 as the debt and deficits continue to rise.”