Economic Shutdown, Federal Aid Fuel Never-Before-Seen Budget Deficit
The federal budget deficit is projected to hit a record $3.3 trillion as huge government expenditures to prop up the shutdown economy have added more than $2 trillion to the federal ledger, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.
That’s more than triple the 2019 shortfall and more than double the levels experienced after the market meltdown and Great Recession of 2008-09.
Government spending, fueled by four coronavirus response measures, would register at $6.6 trillion, $2 trillion more than 2019.
The economy shut down in the spring in a failed national attempt to defeat the pandemic.
That shutdown led lawmakers to pump money into business subsidies, larger unemployment benefits, $1,200 direct payments and other stimulus steps.
But many have long warned that rising levels of debt will serve as a drag on the economy in the coming years. The Federal Reserve has stepped in to keep credit markets stable and interest rates low.
Lawmakers and the White House are currently quarreling over the size and scope of a fifth virus relief bill, with Republicans balking at the enormous costs of Democrat proposals.
The enormous deficit is bringing the federal debt, as measured by the size of the economy, near levels not experienced since the end of World War II.
At year’s end, the amount of debt held by investors will approach the size of the economy.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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