Another debt ceiling debacle could sink the economy
Last year's Congressional debt standoff hurt consumer confidence more than the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Betsey Johnson and Justin Wolfers write. This time could be worse. Read more at Counterparties
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CBO sees FY12 budget deficit of $1.08 trillion: sources
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. budget deficit will hit $1.08 trillion this year, the Congressional Budget Office will forecast on Tuesday, up from a previous estimate of $973 billion, according to sources familiar with the soon-to-be-released report.
The $1.08 trillion deficit estimate for fiscal 2012, which began on October 1, would be down from the fiscal 2011 budget deficit of about $1.3 trillion.
CBO, the non-partisan budget analyst for Congress, also forecast a $585 billion budget deficit for fiscal 2013, which begins on October 1. But that figure assumes the expiration on December 31 of the across-the-board George W. Bush-era income tax cuts, which reduce revenues collected by the Treasury Department.
Congress is expected to extend at least some of those tax cuts by the end of this year.
If the CBO estimate for this year's deficit proves accurate, fiscal 2012 would be the fourth consecutive year of federal budget deficits topping $1 trillion.
(Reporting By Richard Cowan; Editing by Paul Simao)
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This proves that the main driver, about 50%, of our current deficits was caused by this insane policy. Got to love the GOP and their ‘starve the beast’ mentality.
The best policy Congress could choose to implement would be the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction plan. Not only would the plan both raise revenue and cut spending, but it would also simplify the tax code, improve fairness, increase U.S. competitiveness abroad, and spur economic growth. http://bit.ly/noTDPF
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