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Looking for a silver lining in a very dark cloud, the latest budget report, which was released on Tuesday, noted that the US government will run a slightly lower deficit than last year, coming out to only, gulp, $1.1 trillion for the fiscal year that ends in September.
The Congressional Budget Office was able to report additional good news, saying that the annual deficits will remain in the $1 trillion range for the next few years, but only if the tax cuts from President Bush’s presidential years will be extended, which is the assumption despite the fact that they will expire in December.
This report is the sad reminder that the government’s fiscal position is perilous indeed, but no matter. During an election year Obama and his fellow lawmakers will not go out on any limbs to accomplish much to improve the situation.
There is no shortage of blame however, within the walls of congress.
"Four straight years of trillion-dollar deficits, no credible plan to lift the crushing burden of debt," said House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a Republican. "The president and his party's leaders have fallen short in their duty to tackle our generation's most pressing fiscal and economic challenges."
"We will not solve this problem unless both sides, Democrats and Republicans, are willing to move off their fixed positions and find common ground," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, a Democrat. "Republicans must be willing to put revenue on the table."
