WASHINGTON (AP) — The government's budget deficit will surge past a half-trillion dollars next year, according to gloomy new estimates, a record flood of red ink that promises to force the winner of the presidential race to dramatically alter his economic agenda.
The deficit will hit $482 billion in the 2009 budget year that will be inherited by Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain, the White House estimated Monday. That figure is sure to rise after adding the tens of billions of dollars in additional Iraq war funding it doesn't include, and the total could be higher yet if the economy fails to recover as the administration predicts.
I like that line; "That figure is sure to rise after adding the tens of billions of dollars in additional Iraq war funding". 'Tens of billions'? That's bullshit -- it's $178 billion for FY09.
George W. Bush's budget deficits;
In Billions
2002 -157.8
2003 -377.6
2004 -412.7
2005 -318.3
2006 -248.2
2007 -162.0
2008 -389.0
2009 -482.0
total -2,547.6
That would be 2,547,600,000,000 or $2.547 trillion in deficits over George W Bush's eight years in office. And that doesn't include the hundreds of billions wasted in Iraq! That shatters Ronald Reagan's previous eight year record ($1.412 trillion) by close to two trillion dollars.
You gotta love these 'conservatives' (sic)!
Addendum: Make that $750 billion actual deficit for 09. I didn't realize Bush and ilk were sandbagging on other things besides his $178 billion Iraq appropriation. BTW, that scheme of Bush's, sandbagging on unemployment, Medicare and housing was a favorite ploy of the other big overspending, phony conservative, Ronald Reagan, too.
