WINNING: Federal Budget Deficit Up 27% Over 2018

Axios reports:

The U.S. budget deficit has already surpassed last year’s total figure, growing to $866.8 billion in just the first 10 months of the fiscal year, according to Treasury Department data reported by Bloomberg.

By the numbers: The deficit is up 27% from the same period last fiscal year, which begins in October. Spending has continued to outpace revenue, with a 3% rise of revenue overshadowed by an 8% jump in spending.

Business Insider reports:



Policymakers have a greater opportunity to reduce the deficit when the economy is solid, but recent legislation has taken it in the opposite direction.

Trump signed into law this month a two-year agreement that would lift the debt ceiling and increase spending by about approximately $320 billion. According to estimates from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Budget, that could amount to a $1.7 trillion increase in projected debt levels over the next decade.