CBO: Deficit Shrank in Fiscal Year 2012

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Last month, the Treasury Department reported that the federal government incurred a budget deficit of $1.1 trillion for fiscal year 2012—$207 billion less than that in 2011. Fiscal year 2012 marks the fourth consecutive year with a deficit above $1.0 trillion. As a share of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), the deficit declined—from 8.7 percent in 2011 to 7.0 percent in 2012—but it was still the fourth highest as a share of GDP since 1946.

As discussed in CBO’s latest Monthly Budget Review, the decline in the deficit stems largely from an increase in revenues. Revenues rose by about 6 percent in fiscal year 2012, in part because of a significant influx of corporate income tax receipts. Although the government’s receipts increased (in nominal terms) for the third consecutive year, they still were 5 percent below their peak in 2007. As a share of GDP, receipts rose from 15.4 percent in 2011 to 15.8 percent in 2012 but remained well below the 40-year average of about 18 percent of GDP.

Outlays declined by 1.7 percent in 2012. Federal spending has totaled between $3.5 trillion and $3.6 trillion in each of the past four years, and spending in 2012 was just slightly more than in 2009. As a share of GDP, outlays fell in 2012—to 22.8 percent, which was less than the 24.1 percent recorded in 2011 and 2010 but still above the 40-year average of 21.0 percent.

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43697

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Well there ya go. Obama's plans are working, right?

Deficit- not the debt. The deficit is this year's shortfall. The debt is the sum of all shortfalls. It is saying that the amount they were short (and had to borrow) was less this year than it was last year. Credit some of this to the divisive Congress which has made it more difficult to find new ways to spend taxpayer money.

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but it was still the fourth highest as a share of GDP since 1946.

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And the three others, I assume, are the 3 preceding years?

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Originally Posted by Zippyjuan

Deficit- not the debt. The deficit is this year's shortfall. The debt is the sum of all shortfalls. It is saying that the amount they were short (and had to borrow) was less this year than it was last year. Credit some of this to the divisive Congress which has made it more difficult to find new ways to spend taxpayer money.

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Yeah, I know. But it still is a sign of improvement. Agreed that the roadblock that is the TEA Party is the most likely cause. I'm trying to figure out why corporate income tax revenues are up so much.

Corporate taxes are up because corporate incomes are at record levels. But this is not being shared with workers who are working fewer hours and getting paid less per hour.

http://www.businessinsider.com/corpo...ime-low-2012-6

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Corporate Profits Just Hit An All-Time High, Wages Just Hit An All-Time Low

Henry Blodget|Jun. 22, 2012, 8:55 AM|104,317|104

In case you need more confirmation that the US economy is out of balance, here are three charts for you.

1) Corporate profit margins just hit an all-time high. Companies are making more per dollar of sales than they ever have before. (And some people are still saying that companies are suffering from "too much regulation" and "too many taxes." Maybe little companies are, but big ones certainly aren't).
http://static3.businessinsider.com/i...ent-of-gdp.png


2) Fewer Americans are working than at any time in the past three decades. One reason corporations are so profitable is that they don't employ as many Americans as they used to.
http://static2.businessinsider.com/i...tion-ratio.png


3) Wages as a percent of the economy are at an all-time low. This is both cause and effect. One reason companies are so profitable is that they're paying employees less than they ever have as a share of GDP. And that, in turn, is one reason the economy is so weak: Those "wages" are other companies' revenue.
http://static3.businessinsider.com/i...ges-to-gdp.png


In short, our current system and philosophy is creating a country of a few million overlords and 300+ million serfs.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/corpo...#ixzz2C7edbx3E

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