Bush Pushes America Deeper into Debt as Federal Deficit Hits New
Record
Commentary ~ August 11, 2004: The Bush administration
continued to push the United States deeper into debt last month.
With only two months left in the government's budget year, the federal
deficit has hit a record $395.8 billion.
The monthly accounting of spending and revenue showed
that the July deficit totaled $69.2 billion. This figure is up 27.5%
from the $54.2 billion shortfall at this time last year, according
to a Treasury Department press release. According to the Treasury
Department, the government spent $1.93 trillion during the last
10 months, including outlays of $203.6 billion in July. The 10-month
total represents a 7.2 % increase over spending in 2003.
The $395.8 billion deficit through the first 10 months
of the government's fiscal year was up 22% from the same period
a year earlier and now has passed the record deficit of $374.3 billion
for all of last year.
According to the Associated Press, the Bush administration
is projecting that the deficit for all of the 2004 budget year,
which ends Sept. 30, will be $445 billion. This year will mark the
third consecutive budget deficit. Before these three years in the
hole, the United States enjoyed four straight years of surpluses
during the Clinton administration.
The negative economic news plays right into the hands
of John Kerry, who argues that the current administration turned
projected record surpluses into record deficits to finance massive
tax cuts primarily benefiting the rich. The budget deficits were
also caused by the unilateral rush into an unnecessary war.
