The Budget Deficit: It’s not All Downhill from Here

Oct. 15, 2014 - PRLog -- The Treasury Department released figures today that showed the deficit for Fiscal Year 2014 was $483 billion.

Sadly, that is the good news.

While the level is 29 percent below the FY 2013 deficit, the improved figure is a sign of economic recovery in combination with short-term austerity. It does not suggest that we have entered into a period of fiscal sustainability. In fact, the opposite is true. The 66 percent drop in deficits over the past five years is somewhat misleading since it follows a roughly 800 percent increase that brought deficits to their highest levels in post-war history.

See highlights of the latest numbers at http://www.fixthedebt.org/blog/its-not-all-downhill-from-here_1#.VD7moCjkPvx.

Maya MacGuineas, head of the Campaign to Fix the Debt, said the following:

“Our leaders are focusing on the short term when we should be looking at the medium and long term. Deficits temporarily declining from record levels only to begin rising again in a few years is not a sign that we have fixed our fiscal problems. Instead of prematurely declaring victory, policy makers should rededicate themselves to getting the debt under control.”