Aug 20 2009
U.S. to trim $262 billion off of budget defecit
In some more much needed good news on the economic front, the White House is reportedly going to trim approximately $262 billion off of the budget deficit.
According to a White House official the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will make the announcement in its annual mid-year review next week.
While it’s not quite cause for celebration yet (the deficit still stands at $1.58 trillion, or 11.2% of the GDP) it is an encouraging sign in what has been a sea of red flags. The extra money was attributed to the Obama administration spending less T.A.R.P. money than originally expected.
President Barack Obama has repeatedly made deficit-reduction a priority in his words, but it’s been much harder to see it in his actions. Hopefully this small step is a sign of better things to come on this particular front.
“The financial crisis was so bad that revenues plummeted and all this money was spent in making sure that the banking system did not completely collapse.” Said Obama defending the spending spree. “So all the actions that have been taken — the bank bailout, the auto bailout, all that stuff — did spike the deficit.”
