Actually, the federal government had a significant budget surplus during the month of April; the largest since 2008.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The federal government had a budget surplus of $114 billion in April, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Wednesday. That is $1 billion more than a year ago and would be the biggest April surplus since 2008. CBO estimates receipts were 2% higher in April versus the same month a year ago. Spending rose 2.5%. For the fiscal year to date, CBO estimates the deficit to be $301 billion, down $187 billion compared to the same period in 2013.
It’s looking more and more likely that the deficit will be eliminated before President Obama leaves office. My hope is that this happens prior to fiscal 2017 so the last budget President Obama signs into law will be deficit free.
Republicans could stall at the tail end of 2016 to ensure that doesn’t happen, but losing another election will certainly take the wind out of their sails.
Regardless who is president in 2017, President Obama will have put them in much stronger position to tackle pressing issues like climate change.