Get out those “Mission Accomplished” banners. Uncork the champagne. Deficit spending by the federal government this year will be at the lowest level of President Barack Obama’s administration.
Some liberals are arguing that ought to be Americans’ reaction to a new report on how much money Washington spends in excess of what it takes in.
In fact, they are using it against conservatives in Congress who want to find ways to reduce federal spending.
But hold your applause. Indeed, deficit spending has been reduced since the years in which Obama’s agenda drove it above $1 trillion a year.
For the current year, the deficit is expected to be “just” $426 billion. That is the lowest deficit of Obama’s tenure.
But viewing that as some sort of victory meaning the government can continue spending like a drunken bureaucrat is, in a word, crazy.
This year’s deficit amounts to more than $1,300 for every man, woman and child in the United States. It will be added to the more than $18 trillion national debt already on the books – more than $56,000 for every person in the country.
And, by the way, current policies are expected to send the annual deficit back up within the next few years.
So, mission accomplished? No. Not even off to a good start, in fact.