Deficit Taxes

The Deficit Tops $1 Trillion, Household Income Barely Budges

Written by SK Ashby

While the Trump White House quietly begins preparing to introduce "tax cuts 2.0," the legacy of their first tax is just beginning as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now projects that the federal deficit will top $1 trillion for the current first year.

The CBO had previously estimated that the deficit would weigh in just below the trillion dollar market, but their latest estimate is that it could reach almost $1.1 trillion.

From MarketWatch:

In its budget review published Monday afternoon, the CBO said the deficit for the first 11 months of the fiscal year was $1.07 trillion, up $168 billion from last year.

Outlays have climbed by 7%, on rises in both the number and amount of Social Security and Medicare claims, which both rose 6%. Medicaid outlays rose 5%.

Interest payments on the national debt rose 14%, and defense spending climbed 8%.

Congressional Republicans and the Trump White House made the fantastical claim that their tax cuts would lead to significantly higher wages and that average Americans would see their income increase by $4,000, but we knew that wasn't going to happen and it has not.

The Census Bureau reports that medium household income has increased by a statistically insignificant $553.

The Census bureau said on Tuesday that the median U.S. household income was $63,179 in 2018, not statistically different from the $62,626 registered in 2017.

The data reflect a year in which U.S. economic growth was boosted by Trump’s tax overhaul and a rise in government spending, the effects of which have begun to wane. [...]

About 27.5 million residents, or 8.5% of people, did not have health insurance in 2018, up from 25.6 million, or 7.9%, during the previous year. It is the first year-to-year increase in the percentage of uninsured people since 2008-2009, Census said.

What's extraordinary about all of these numbers from the exploding deficit to the stagnate wages and loss of health care is that the greater economy is in relatively good shape with low unemployment and moderate-but-decreasing economic growth.

These things are suppose to happen when the economy is in recession, but we're not even there yet.

Republicans are unparalleled in their ability to turn a booming economy upside down, but Britain's conservatives are trying as hard as they can to catch up.