2012 Deficit Drops Slightly as Tax Revenues Rise

      No one is talking about this. Politico certainly isn't they're much more interested in how many negative Obama headlines they can fit on their home page. What hasn't been seen in a long time is any negative Romney headlines though there are plenty like the fact that he plans to deny care for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions, that he is opposed to hiring more police, fireman, and teachers because he actually thinks they offer no benefit to the economy and the fact that after he's done keeping his campaign promises like "repeal and replace" and closing the Education Department and banning Planned Parenthood, he plans to give himself a raise.

     But the deficit for the first 8 months of this year was down year over year due largely to an increase in revenue:

   "Higher tax receipts and slightly lower government spending have narrowed the federal deficit for the first eight months of the fiscal year compared with a year earlier, Treasury Department figures showed Tuesday."

     "The department collected $180.7 billion in taxes and other revenue last month, the highest May tally since 2006 and the second-highest on record for the month. But the federal government spent $305.3 billion during the month."

     "For the first eight months of the fiscal year, the deficit totaled $844.5 billion, compared with a $927.4 billion shortfall in the year-earlier period."

     "Individual income-tax receipts for October to May rose 4.2% to $731.3 billion from $701.9 billion a year earlier."

     "Corporate income taxes, meanwhile, rose to $119.1 billion from $85.5 billion in the comparable period of 2011."

      "For all of fiscal 2012 so far, outlays were $2.41 trillion, down about $3.4 billion from a year earlier."

      "The Congressional Budget Office is projecting the federal deficit will hit $1.2 trillion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, down slightly from $1.3 trillion a year earlier."

      "Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner last month forecast the government would hit its debt limit before the end of the year, though the department could take measures to avoid defaulting on its obligations into early 2013. A Treasury official Tuesday said the estimate is unchanged.
House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) has threatened to hold up any increase in the debt ceiling unless it is combined with spending cuts."

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303444204577462742194475320.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5

    As far as Boehner's jawboning goes, what this points to is you need growth. What is missing in all the GOP carping is that what is more relevant is the structural deficit-the deficit that you have after growth comes back. The pre-Crisis deficit was composed of two components-the Bush wars and the Bush deficits. The GOP are squealing like the pigs that Rush Limbaugh is about the military cuts that are scheduled and the Bush tax cuts. Ironically if we ignore them the deficit would be done with then.

   Mind you I'm not a deficit hawk, this whole deficit obsession is wrongheaded anyway-particularly during a recession. But if you want deficit reduction there's your deficit reduction.