CBO’s Reestimate of the President’s Budget
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released its Preliminary Analysis of the President’s 2011 Budget. CBO’s report re-estimates the President’s budget using CBO’s economic and technical assumptions. Over the 2011-2020 period CBO’s deficit estimates are more that $1 trillion higher than those projected by the Administration. In 2015, CBO projects a deficit of nearly $800 billion, or over 4 percent of GDP, well above the President’s 3 percent of GDP target. Debt held by the public is projected to reach $20 trillion by the end of the decade— an increase of over 170 percent from its 2009 level according to CBO. As a result, interest payments on the debt are expected to quadruple between 2010 and 2020. For this year, CBO estimates a lower deficit than the President primarily due to differences in estimated spending. Starting in 2011, CBO’s deficit estimates are higher largely due to lower projected revenues, which reflect less optimistic economic assumptions than used by the Administration.
Further Reading
Most Get More from Social Security and Medicare Than They Pay In
Understanding lifetime tax and benefit payments, and how those lifetime balances vary, can help policymakers better target reforms to ensure the programs can be sustainable for decades to come.
9 Facts About Social Security and the Need to Strengthen It
Social Security is an essential program for millions of Americans, but it’s at risk if lawmakers fail to take action to reform the program.
What Is SNAP? An Overview of the Largest Federal Anti-Hunger Program
SNAP has a positive effect on poverty and food insecurity, with a relatively small effect on the federal budget.