U.S. budget deficit estimated at $250 billion. - Think Progress
A new Congressional Budget Office estimate released today concluded that the “budget deficit for the current budget year will jump to about $250 billion,” which includes the cost of the Iraq war. This figure, however, does not factor in the “at least $100 billion in additional red ink from an upcoming deficit-financed economic stimulus measure.”
UPDATE: Senate Budget Commitee Chairman Kent Conrad’s (D-ND) statement:
CBO’s new projections show that the deficit will worsen in 2008. This short-term deterioration is due, at least in part, to our slowing economy. And it is important to note that CBO’s baseline projections actually understate the likely short-term deficit levels, because they exclude expected costs such as a stimulus package and additional war funding requested by President Bush. Once these costs are added in, the deficit in 2008 is likely to exceed $350 billion, and the debt is likely to increase by over $600 billion.
Remember to thank the Bush administration for that classic Conservative fiscal responsibility, eh? Democrats are often tarred as “tax and spend” and that’s portrayed as being worse than the “spend money we don’t have” that the Republicans like to engage in.
Yeah, I think Gary Trudeau nailed it.
As Garrison Keillor said, the Republicans were the mean uncle at the Thanksgiving dinner, but you could count on them to balance the checkbook.
But just watch; they’ll blame the Democrats.