U.S. federal gov't monthly budget deficit rises to record high in February

The U.S. federal government's budget deficit surged by 222.5 billion U.S. dollars in February, the largest monthly budget deficit increase, the Department of Treasury figures revealed Thursday.


This is the fresh evidence of the ballooning budget deficit in the world's largest economy. Experts held that although the nation vowed to cut deficit and restore fiscal discipline, the serious austerity policy is not in the near term. In fiscal year 2010, the U.S. budget deficit hit 1.29 trillion dollars after it recorded 1.42 trillion dollars in fiscal year 2009.


Since last year, the fiscal position in the nation has further worsened, partly due to the tax-cut compromise package passed by the lame-duck Congress in December last year and rising outlays for entitlement programs including Medicare and Medicaid.


"The gap between spending and revenues is likely to remain very large even after we return to normal economic conditions," Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), said earlier this week.


The U.S. federal budget deficit is projected to equal 9.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011, the CBO said Thursday in a report.
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com)