The federal deficit reached a new record high during the month of February and this record comes before any response or economic fallout from the coronavirus was piled on top.
According to the Treasury Department, the federal deficit for the month of February slightly topped the previous record at $235 billion.
The U.S. budget deficit was a record $235.3 billion in February, indicating the gap was widening even before the impact of any potential fiscal stimulus that the White House and Congress may deliver to cushion the impact from the coronavirus outbreak.
The deficit reflected $423.3 billion in outlays and $188 billion in revenue, according to Treasury Department data released Wednesday.
The gap was slightly wider than the previous record of $234 billion in February 2019, and in line with the $235 billion estimate of the Congressional Budget Office.
The deficit is absolutely not something Congress should be concerned about when considering an appropriate response to the virus, but this illustrates the magnitude of the GOP's fiscal irresponsibility.
The deficit was already soaring before a legitimate disaster arrived because the Republican party blew everything on tax cuts for people who were already the richest people in the world. The Republican-controlled government created a massive fiscal hole and flushed money down it with almost nothing to show for it. Well over half of all market gains since Trump took office in 2017 were wiped off the board over the last two weeks and the virus is about to take a big bite out of what's left.
Trump's tax cuts injected fake, temporary value into corporations who turned their windfalls into dividends for wealthy shareholders while investment in their own businesses declined.
A pandemic would be a significant blow to the economy under any president, but the policies and priorities of the Trump regime primed and weakened the economy making it more susceptible to the unexpected.
The Dow closed down by 2,350 points or about 10 percent today. It's in free fall.