The U.S. government faces a record
budget deficit of $480 billion next fiscal year, a shortfall that
will increase as Congress pays for the occupation of Iraq and
finishes its budget, the Congressional Budget Office said.
The cumulative deficit over 10 years will hit $1.4 trillion
not counting pending legislation on military costs, taxes or
Medicare, the non-partisan congressional agency said in Washington
as it analyzed the fiscal year that begins in October.
“The official numbers are much too optimistic because they
don’t build in likely changes to the tax code and spending
rates,” said William Dudley, chief economist at Goldman Sachs
& Co. He projects $4.5 trillion in deficits over a decade, based
on Medicare changes, continuation of recent tax breaks and
spending growth at the same rate as recent years.
Bloomberg News
