 WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - U.S. congressional budget experts on Friday offered a darker economic and budget outlook, projecting a breathtaking $1.8 trillion deficit this year, which could complicate President Barack Obama's efforts to win passage of his $3.55 trillion budget for 2010.
| Bambi's first year deficit is larger than the first seven years of Dubya's administration, combined. |
The Congressional Budget Office's projected deficit for the 2009 fiscal year ending on Sept. 30 would amount to 13.1 percent of expected gross domestic product -- a level not seen since World War Two.
| When, it should be noted, we were fighting a war. A big war in which about 1,200 America men were dying every day. In contrast today we're blowing all the money on ... well, what exactly we don't know. The stimulus fund isn't stimulating and the stabilization money isn't stabilizing. |
In January, the budget office had forecast a $1.2 trillion deficit for fiscal 2009. The CBO also forecast a deeper economic downturn this year, projecting a contraction of 3 percent in 2009 before the economy begins to recover in next year. The budget experts at CBO forecast the deficit would ease to almost $1.4 trillion in fiscal 2010 -- or 9.6 percent of forecast GDP.
| The CBO eviscerates every projection and argument Bambi's team made last month. |
Since Obama took office in January, his administration has been shoveling out trillions billions of dollars in a bid to reverse a steep downward spiral in the U.S. economy and prop up the struggling financial system.
"Although the economy is likely to continue to deteriorate for some time," the CBO said, the government's $787 billion economic stimulus package "and very aggressive actions by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury are projected to help end the recession in the fall of 2009."
The CBO projected that following its forecast steep economic contraction this year, the economy will grow 2.9 percent next year and 4 percent in 2011. In January, CBO had forecast the economy to shrink 2.2 percent this year before growing 1.5 percent in 2010 and 4.2 percent in 2011.
| Related article from the IHT here. |
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