The US government’s spending is now exceeding its revenues by over a trillion dollars just eight months into the current fiscal year.
The data comes from a newly released Treasury Department report which tracks the government’s receipts and expenses for the 2023 fiscal year, which runs from October 1st, 2022 to September 30th, 2023.
According to the latest numbers from the agency, the government’s budget deficit surged to $1.392 trillion year-to-date from October 2022 to June of this year – a 170% increase from the same time frame in the previous year.
Specifically, the government spent more than $4.80 trillion from October 2022 to June 2023, while generating $3.413 trillion in taxes and other revenues.
The rating agency Fitch says that while the United States continues to maintain a credit rating of “AAA,” the highest designation assigned to countries that have the lowest expectation of default risk, it is currently on negative watch due to the nation’s fiscal and debt trajectories.
“Fitch believes the US rating is supported by exceptional strengths, including the size of the economy, high GDP (gross domestic product) per capita and dynamic business environment.
The US dollar is the world’s preeminent reserve currency, which gives the government unparalleled financing flexibility. Some of these strengths could be eroded over time by governance shortcomings.”
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers recently weighed in on America’s deficit, saying he believes the government will have very little choice but to substantially raise taxes to cover its increasing deficit.
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