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US Deficit Soaring to $1.6T This Year

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 25, 2009 10:56 AM CDT

(Newser) – Here's the latest eye-popping number produced by the recession: $1.6 trillion. The White House and CBO today projected that figure as this year's deficit, reports the New York Times. While it would be the biggest since World War II, the figure is actually about $260 billion better than anticipated in May. Still, the red ink is expected to reach $9 trillion over the next decade, says the White House.

“A lot of people will look at this deficit and say we cannot afford health care reform," said budget director Peter Orszag. In fact, it's more important now than ever to rein in costs, he said. Republicans, however, are already pouncing, notes the Washington Post: "If we continue to pursue this policy of Washington as the answer to every problem, it will cost Americans far more than the obvious burdens of ever-higher taxes, interest rates, inflation, and debt; it will cost us the freedom to run our own lives," said a GOP congressman.

President Obama looks on after announcing he is keeping Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke for a second term. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

President Obama announces he is keeping Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke for a second term today. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 49 comments

Doctor-Zaius

Aug 27, 2009 5:23 AM CDT

Keep dreaming doggie. Your revisionism is an insult to anyone who lived through those times and payed attention.

emptycalm

Aug 26, 2009 5:47 AM CDT

So what, we're to go back to the party of bush? That's the only other option given to the american people.

Unaffiliated

Aug 26, 2009 1:02 AM CDT

Neither party represents the interests of a majority of people. They're both too entangled with lobbyists and corporate donors. Let the Dems and Reps play in their own tired, old sandbox and seek out new parties that base their policies on rational thought and common sense. www.modernwhig.org

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deficit • national debt • Congressional Budget Office • budget deficit • Obama administration

More Newser Stories

How Much Did Obama Really Add to Deficit?

Ezra Klein crunches the numbers and comes up with a lower total than you think

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney has taken to carrying around a debt clock, blaming President Obama for the ever-climbing number it shows. But the clock doesn't show how much Obama has actually added to that debt, so Ezra Klein set out to find out. "There are two answers," he writes in the Washington Post . The first, which is "simple and wrong" is $4.7 trillion. That's what you get when you subtract the debt when Obama took office (about $10.5 trillion) from the current debt (about $15.2 trillion). More»

Deficit to Shrink ... to $1.1T

Congressional Budget Office releases its assessment

(NEWSER) - Good news/bad news time. Good news: The deficit will fall this year, thanks to additional tax revenue and major cuts in government spending. Bad news: It's still going to be $1.1 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office estimate released today; last year's total was $1.3 trillion. If the figure is accurate, 2012 will be the fourth year in a row that the government has run at least a trillion dollars short, Bloomberg reports. More»

National Debt Now as Big as Entire Economy

And sure to surpass it soon: USA Today

(NEWSER) - It's official, at least according to USA Today : The national debt is as big as the country's entire economy, and sure to surpass it soon. The federal government owes more than $15.23 trillion to creditors and government programs like Social Security, which is more than the latest estimate for the value of all goods and services produced by the US economy in one year: $15.17 trillion. That number is as of September, and the economy probably grew to $15.3 trillion by last month, USA Today notes. More»

Fitch Hacks US Debt Outlook After Super Committee Fails

Downgrade of AAA rating could loom

(NEWSER) - Thanks to the super committee’s super failure, Fitch Ratings has downgraded US debt outlook to negative. Fitch did not lower the US’ AAA rating for long-term treasuries, but a Fitch official says a negative debt outlook often leads to such a downgrade. That decision is not expected until late 2013, CBS News reports. “We didn't expect that the committee would be able to resolve the budget problem in one single go, but we had believed it was possible for the committee to provide a platform for developing a consensus on how to reduce the deficit,” he says. More»

Gingrich: Super Committee Failure 'Good for America'

Liberal bloggers pretty happy about it, too

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich certainly isn’t mourning the super committee’s super failure , calling it “good for America” this morning, Politico reports. Gingrich, a longtime critic of the panel, said the “gridlock” in Washington is “partly the president's fault, it's partly the Congress' fault, but it's a mess.” The former House speaker adds that he was able to push through balanced budget and welfare reform legislation in the 1990s even with a Democratic president. More»

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US Deficit Soaring to $1.6T This Year

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More Newser Stories

How Much Did Obama Really Add to Deficit?

Ezra Klein crunches the numbers and comes up with a lower total than you think

Deficit to Shrink ... to $1.1T

Congressional Budget Office releases its assessment

National Debt Now as Big as Entire Economy

And sure to surpass it soon: USA Today

Fitch Hacks US Debt Outlook After Super Committee Fails

Downgrade of AAA rating could loom

Gingrich: Super Committee Failure 'Good for America'

Liberal bloggers pretty happy about it, too

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US Deficit Soaring to $1.6T This Year

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

deficit • national debt • Congressional Budget Office • budget deficit • Obama administration

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

How Much Did Obama Really Add to Deficit?

Ezra Klein crunches the numbers and comes up with a lower total than you think

Deficit to Shrink ... to $1.1T

Congressional Budget Office releases its assessment

National Debt Now as Big as Entire Economy

And sure to surpass it soon: USA Today

Fitch Hacks US Debt Outlook After Super Committee Fails

Downgrade of AAA rating could loom

Gingrich: Super Committee Failure 'Good for America'

Liberal bloggers pretty happy about it, too

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

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More News

What is Newser?