"Federal Deficit Grew $50 Billion in January"

The sub-title reads; "Year's Figure May Hit 1.5 Trillion"

"WASHINGTON:  The federal government's budget deficit grew by $50 billion in January and is expected to finish the year as the highest in history.

The Treasury Department said the deficit was one of the highest ever for the month of January, second only to the $63 billion deficit recorded two years ago.  For the first four months of this budget year, the deficit totaled $418.8 billion, 4.2 percent lower than the same period a year ago. 

However, this improving trend is expected to reverse in coming months.  The Congressional Budget Offic is projecting a record deficit of $1.5 trillion this budget year, which ends in September.  The estimate was revised upward last month based on a tax-cut package brokered between the White House and Republicans that will add $400 billion to this year's red ink. 

That will mark the third consecutive year that the government's dificit has been over $1 trillion, unprecendented imbalances that have been caused by the worst recession since the 1930s.  That meant a sharp drop in government tax collections as millions of people lost their jobs while at the same time the government was boosting spending to stimulate the economy and stabilize the banking system.

While President Obama contended that the dowturn would have been much worse without all the government spending, Republicans took control of the House is the last election and picked up seats in the Senate by vowing to attack all the deficit spending. 

Obama is facing GOP demands to slash billions from government programs as he prepares to unveil his budget for 2012 on Monday.  that blue-print will contain a five-year freeze on many domestic government programs. 

So far this budget year, government revenues total $758.4 billion, an increase of 9.4 percent from a year ago, reflecting signifcant gains in individual income tax payments.  Spending totaled $1.18 trillion from October through January, 4.8 percent higher than a year ago, reflecting higher spending on the government's big benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare as well as higher interest payments on the soaring national debt, which is repidly approaching the current borrowing limit of $14.3 trillion." 

END OF ARTICLE;

The Congress is playing with numbers, I don't think the Congress even understands...and they're putting the future of all Americans in jeapordy.  Everyone in America has to maintain a household budget...or else.  The Congress is not a good example of maintaining a budget.

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