The U.S. government’s deficit this budget year is on track to be the second-largest deficit recorded in the country’s history.
For the first nine months of the budget year, the U.S. government’s budget shortfall amounted to $2.24 trillion, The Associated Press (AP) reported. Government expenditures from October to June for this fiscal year amounted to $5.29 trillion thus far, whereas government receipts — the government’s income via taxation and other mechanisms — amounted to $3.06 trillion, the U.S. Treasury Department announced Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government’s deficit for the first nine months of this budget year hit $2.24 trillion, keeping the country on track for its second biggest shortfall in history.https://t.co/XKP5jy9CLy
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) July 13, 2021
The 2021 budget year’s deficit is 9.1% lower than it was in 2020, which set the record for the largest deficit in U.S. history at $3.1 trillion, The AP noted. Government receipts are up more than 35% compared to last year because tax deadlines were delayed, even though spending this year is up nearly 6%, thus far.
The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that at the end of this fiscal year, the budget will amount to about $3 trillion, according to The AP. Both the 2020 and 2021 budget deficits were largely increased due to the stimulus packages passed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous record before the COVID-19 pandemic was $1.4 trillion in 2009 following the 2008 financial crisis, The AP reported. (RELATED: Federal Government Racks Up Third-Largest Monthly Deficit Ever Recorded)
The pandemic pushed global government debt to the highest level since WWII, surpassing the world’s annual economic output. Enormous savings make it possible for nations to borrow heavily at low cost, defying worries about inflation and sustainability. https://t.co/MOYlSguL6I
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) July 12, 2021
The U.S. is not the only world government borrowing in order to repair its economy from the crash triggered by COVID-19. The world’s debt amounted to 88% of gross domestic product (GDP) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but has since increased to 105% of global GDP, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) stated, as previously reported.