BBC
The next US president is expected to face a record federal budget deficit of almost half a trillion dollars.
The White House has lifted its deficit forecast for 2009 to $482bn (£242bn) up from $407bn.
The budget deficit measures how much more the government is spending than it is raising through taxes.
The slowing economy is reducing the tax take and the government has launched a stimulus plan by making payments to 130 million households to boost spending.
The forecast figure excludes about $80bn of war costs.
The budget deficit is measured from the beginning of October to the end of September.
It is possible that the deficit for 2008 will also break the record of $413bn, which was set in 2004.....
No comments:
Post a Comment