US Budget Deficit Slashed in Half , As Pandemic Spending Eases.
Reuters reports that on Oct.
21, the American government said that compared to last year, its 2022 fiscal budget deficit was cut in half to $1.375 trillion.
Decreased COVID relief spending and record revenues were key factors.
According to the U.S. Treasury, the $1.400 trillion deficit reduction was the largest-ever improvement in a single year.
President Biden touted his administration's efforts to lower the deficit while increasing infrastructure spending and providing more benefits to middle- and low-income Americans.
You know, we've gone from an historically strong economic recovery to a steady and stable growth, while reducing the deficit, President Biden, via statement.
However, student loan forgiveness costs kept the deficit from being cut even further.
According to CNN, the program, which is widely criticized by Republicans, impacted the outlays for the fiscal year's final month of September by $430 billion.
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Still, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the Biden administration has sustained a "credible fiscal policy.".
I do see our debt as being on a responsible path, Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary, via statement.
But fiscal watchdog Committee for a Responsible Budget thinks otherwise.
It should be no surprise that the Federal Reserve is having a hard time getting inflation under control when fiscal policymakers keep making their job even harder with more borrowing, Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Fiscal Budget, via statement
