Today's guest is Olivier Garret, CEO of Casey research. Oliver is going to give us his take on the ballooning deficit. Enjoy and be sure to leave us a comment giving us your thoughts on the deficit!
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On March 20, 2009, the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest forecast in an effort to take into account the impact of the recently released Obama budget. The verdict? A whopping $1.8 trillion deficit for 2009, approximately four times larger than the all-time record established in 2008 ($455 billion).
The concerns raised by this latest forecast are many:
1) A mere two months ago, the CBO’s estimate for 2009 was “only” $1.2 trillion. They have already grossly underestimated a deficit that will most likely continue to balloon in the coming months.
2) While the new administration has focused its attention on the spending side of the budget, it has paid little attention to the other side of the equation. What will happen when tax revenue comes in much lower than current projections?
3) Even ignoring the likely expansion of the projected deficit, where will we get the $1.8 trillion needed to cover the CBO’s estimated deficit? Foreign investors? Higher taxes? Or that old standby, the printing presses?
Continue reading "Widening Deficits"
