The 2012 Long-Term Budget Outlook

Abstract

In the past few years, the federal government has been recording the largest budget deficits since 1945, both in dollar terms and as a share of the economy. Consequently, the amount of federal debt held by the public has surged. At the end of 2008, that debt equaled 40 percent of the nation s annual economic output (gross domestic product, or GDP) a little above the 40-year average of 38 percent. Since then, the figure has shot upward: By the end of this year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects, federal debt will exceed 70 percent of GDP the highest percentage since shortly after World War II. The sharp rise in debt stems partly from lower tax revenues and higher federal spending caused by the severe economic downturn and from policies enacted during the past few years. However, the growing debt also reflects an imbalance between spending and revenues that predated the recession.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2012
Accession Number
ADA562272

Entities

Organizations

  • Congressional Budget Office

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Baby Boomers
  • Commerce
  • Delivery Of Health Care
  • Demographic Cohorts
  • Demography
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Employment
  • Federal Budgets
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Investments
  • Law
  • Medical Personnel
  • Money
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • United States Government

Fields of Study

  • Economics

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Mathematics or Statistics
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting