record budget deficit – it’s the [non]recession
i guess the theme this week is going to be the economy, i found another gem.
White House Sees Record Budget Deficit [reuters, july 30, 2004]The White House blames the 2001 recession and the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks for ushering in the deficits
yes, except that the 2001 recession doesn’t look like a recession so much. i wonder if anyone at the white house is reading the reports coming out of the commerce department? this administration used to be so good at keeping everyone on the same page…
The U.S. budget deficit will hit a record $445 billion this year, according to a White House report on Friday that is sure to fuel election-year wrangles about President Bush’s economic policies.
The figure is well above the 2003 shortfall of $374 billion, the prior record in dollar terms. But the midsession review forecast is $76 billion less than the $521 billion the White House projected in February.
so things (well, projections) are improving, and the rest of the article goes on to discuss the scope of the deficit in percentage-of-gdp terms. the peak in those terms was 1983 (that’s a reagan administration budget). some quick math tells me that’s about $1500 per living american to cover the gap for 2004. plus any extra emergency war money that comes up.
ok, with that, i hand it over to the experts…