truthmatters
03-20-2008, 12:32 PM
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/Resource-Budget/Federal-Deficit-Surplus-and-National-Debt.html
This is currently the top concern of Americans.
Lets do an honest attempt to use the facts to make our decisions.
Big deficits during the 1980s and the return of a budget surplus in the late 1990s can be seen in Chart 3. Since the graph is adjusted for inflation, it shows also that the deficits from 1943 to 1945, during World War II, are larger than any deficits since that time. In 1998, the federal budget was in surplus for the first time since 1969. However, the tax cut packages under the Bush Administration, starting in 2001, along with additional spending especially on the military resulted in a dramatic reversal. Surpluses that in 2000 amounted to $265 billion (in today's dollars) turned into a $170 billion deficit by 2002 with larger deficits following in 2003 and 2004. The last surplus was in 2001. The federal budget is unlikely to yield a surplus in the next few years unless significant tax and/or spending policies are put in place.
This is currently the top concern of Americans.
Lets do an honest attempt to use the facts to make our decisions.
Big deficits during the 1980s and the return of a budget surplus in the late 1990s can be seen in Chart 3. Since the graph is adjusted for inflation, it shows also that the deficits from 1943 to 1945, during World War II, are larger than any deficits since that time. In 1998, the federal budget was in surplus for the first time since 1969. However, the tax cut packages under the Bush Administration, starting in 2001, along with additional spending especially on the military resulted in a dramatic reversal. Surpluses that in 2000 amounted to $265 billion (in today's dollars) turned into a $170 billion deficit by 2002 with larger deficits following in 2003 and 2004. The last surplus was in 2001. The federal budget is unlikely to yield a surplus in the next few years unless significant tax and/or spending policies are put in place.