Federal deficit up 77 percent so far this budget year

[SunSeeker]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: NBC News/AP

The government collected lower taxes from individuals and corporations, reflecting the impact of Trump's $1.5 trillion tax cut.

The Treasury Department said Tuesday that the deficit for the first four months of this budget year, which began Oct. 1, totaled $310.3 billion. That's up from a deficit of $175.7 billion in the same period a year ago. The surplus in January was $8.7 billion.

The higher deficit reflected greater spending in areas such as Social Security, defense and interest payments on the national debt. Meanwhile, the government collected lower taxes from individuals and corporations, reflecting the impact of the $1.5 trillion tax cut President Donald Trump pushed through Congress in 2017.

Individual income taxes withheld from paychecks total $818 billion for the October-January period, down 3 percent from the same period last year. Corporate income taxes total $73 billion over the four-month period, down 23 percent.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/federal-deficit-77-percent-so-far-budget-year-n979631

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So much for Republicans being "fiscal conservatives."

[SunSeeker]

1. Trump's tax cut for the rich didn't pay for itself like the GOP promised. Not even close.

Who could have guessed that? Everyone.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

2. Echos of past Repug administrations ring in my ears...

so expect calls throughout the media for massive spending cuts to begin any day.......

[sakabatou]

3. And when Democrats have to clean the mess

they'll be blamed for making it.

[DirtEdonE]

4. Welcome back to 2008

Which is to say welcome back to 1929.

"Fiscal conservatives" indeed. They practice voodoo economics. The opposite of economic responsibility.

I call FAKE NEWS!!! FOR THE LAST FIFTY FUCKING YEARS!!!

[LittleGirl]

5. This is a big fat duh!

It's exhausting isn't it?

[duforsure]

6. trump supporters should now realize

His lying daily has gone up higher than that. Then he uses bait and switch tactics over and over again on his supporters to con them into believing his BS. Only criminals and con men do that. That's why all the investigations, because of his being a serial and career criminal , and serial liar. He knows that also, and making excuses for it. Just look at how he lied about the $4,000 everyone he said would get from their tax scam, while he's getting millions from it every year. He claimed he'd reduce the deficit too then gave trillions to the wealthy driving it sky high, and to use to reduce funding for our Social Security , Medicare, and Medicaid, which they did, and cut millions more from getting their health care also. Watch how long now before he has the republicans trying to pass more huge cuts for our safety net programs to cover for their tax windfalls they'll get yearly. .

[watoos]

7. I read the link,

who the fuck wrote it? The AP isn't a person.

I want to know how greater spending on Social Security increased the deficit when SS is self funded? This sentence in the link is bs. Our deficit is growing because Trump gave corporations and billionaires 1.5 trillion dollars that we didn't have, and the tax scam will continue giving them this money forever. I call bs on blaming spending on SS. SS contributes nothing to the deficit.

[Vinca]

8. Republicans always do this, then the Democratic clean-up crew is elected to fix it.

Meanwhile, they pound their chests and call themselves fiscally conservative and the lemmings buy it.

[Omaha Steve]

9. Locking...duplicate

See the earlier post here: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142280022