Fourth Straight Year Exceeding $1 Trillion…
Prepare for another year of $1 trillion-plus deficits.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected Wednesday that the deficit for 2012 will run $1.1 trillion, the fourth year in a row the shortfall will exceed $1 trillion.
The projection is down a bit from an earlier estimate pegging the deficit this year at $1.2 trillion.
The report also warned that a new recession is likely if an ongoing stalemate over tax and spending cuts continues between Democrats and Republicans.
In its annual summertime report, the budget office said Wednesday that letting decade-old tax Bush tax rates expire and sweeping spending cuts occur in January -- which will happen without congressional action -- "would lead to economic conditions in 2013 that will probably be considered a recession."
If that happened, the economy would contract by 0.5 percent -- a gloomier projection than the budget office made earlier this year when it envisioned slight growth under that scenario. Unemployment would rise to around 9 percent by late next year if the standoff persists, the analysts said.
The budget office's latest warning came amid a presidential and congressional election year in which neither President Obama nor congressional Republicans have shown any signs of giving ground in their protracted battle over taxes, spending and the budget. The lethargic economy and massive federal deficits are top-flight issues in this year's campaigns.
Via: Fox News
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