US Budget Deficit: 2014 Fiscal Year Deficit Hits Lowest Level Since 2008
The budget results of the 2014 fiscal year showed "significant and continued progress" in reducing the country's deficit to pre-Great Recession levels.
In a joint statement by U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shaun Donovan, the 2014 fiscal year deficit declined by $197 billion from last year's fiscal year to $483 billion. The latest deficit figure is $165 billion less than estimated in President Barack Obama's 2015 fiscal year budget. As a result, the deficit, in term dollar terms is in its lowest level since 2008. As a GDP percentage, the deficit declined to 2.8 percent, the lowest level since 2007.
"The President's balanced approach to deficit reduction has made our tax code more fair, reduced spending and made critical investments to help drive U.S. competitiveness and growth," said Lew. "The President's policies and a strengthening U.S. economy have resulted in a reduction of the U.S. budget deficit of approximately two-thirds -- the fastest sustained deficit reduction since World War II."
According to the Treasury Department, the deficit has been reduced by approximately two-thirds during Obama's presidency.
"This economic and fiscal progress underscores what is possible if we continue to invest in growth and opportunity," said Donovan. "To build a more durable economy, Congress needs to act on the President's proposals that would put our debt and deficits on a sustainable trajectory, while making critical investments in areas such as education, innovation and infrastructure that will create jobs, economic growth, and opportunity for all Americans."
Revenue increased 8.9 percent while spending also made gains by 1.4 percent. The report comes as the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to new lows. According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics published the latest unemployment figures based on September's data, and the national average was 5.9 percent, down from 7.2 percent for September 2013.
Bloomberg reported the deficit is projected to increase again after the Congressional Budget Office noted segments of the U.S. population will be spending more on health care and Social Security. The CBO, however, also had projected the 2014 fiscal year deficit to be $506 billion.
According to the White House's Office of Digital Strategy's Digital Content Deputy Director Tanya Somanader, the declining deficit was attributed to economic growth, spending cuts and "asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more on their taxes."