Bush’s Parting Gift: Record-Setting Debt

By Eric on July 28, 2008

Thanks, George, for all that fiscal responsibility:

The White House has increased its estimate for next year’s deficit to nearly $490 billion, a record figure that will saddle the next president with deepening budget problems in his first year in office, a report due out Monday shows.

The projected deficit for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 is being driven higher by the continuing economic slowdown and larger-than-anticipated costs of the two-year, $168 billion fiscal stimulus package passed by Congress, said two senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the report. In February, President Bush predicted the 2009 deficit would be $407 billion.

The budget update shows this year’s deficit headed under $400 billion, at least $10 billion less than projected, according to the two officials. That’s partly because tax revenue held up reasonably well despite the weaker economy.

The rising deficit for 2009 marks a sharp turnaround for Bush’s fiscal legacy. He inherited a $128 billion surplus when he came into office in 2001. It soon turned to red ink because of a recession, the Sept. 11 attacks and the war on terrorism.

In other words, not only did George Bush turn Bill Clinton’s budget surplus into a black hole, he managed to reverse his own deficit reduction. Heckuva job, Georgie!

Tags: 2009, deficit, George W. Bush, national debt

Post a Comment (0)