US deficit soared to $205 billion in November
The U.S. budget deficit soared to $205 billion in November, up 48 percent from the same month in 2017, according to a new report from the Treasury Department.
The agency projected that the 2019 deficit would surpass $1 trillion and that the U.S. would need to borrow almost $1.2 trillion to pay its bills.
{mosads}The largest expenditures for November came from mandatory programs such as Social Security and Medicare, followed by defense, income security and health. The sixth-largest expenditure was net interest, the borrowing costs of past debt coming due, which cost $33 billion.
Income taxes and Social Security payments represented the lion’s share of revenue for the federal government last month.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which issued a similar deficit estimate last week, has cited the 2017 GOP tax law as a major driver of deficit increases, alongside a bipartisan agreement to increase discretionary spending.
According to CBO, the nation’s debt burden is on track to reach 96 percent of gross domestic product in 2028.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
