US deficit skyrockets to $898 billion in August

I missed posting the Monthly Treasury Statement last month, I used to do one for every month over the past few months. My time available is getting shorter but for those that wish to keep up on it, they usually come out between the 14th and the 16th of the month, covering the previous month, and I'll leave the links at the bottom.

The August statement from the Treasury just came out a couple of days ago, adding an incredible $214 billion to our deficit in just one month, or nearly a quarter of the entire year. This summer, when I posted a few of these, I suspected we were on pace to have a $1 trillion deficit year. This is doubly concerning since there are no $600-800b bailouts that would make that so, such as we had during the last recession and the government had to bail out the "too big to fails". If we reach $1 trillion in deficit, there are no other factors to blame but overspending, less money coming in and poor management of our funds.

There is still one month to go, and September is usually a surplus month, so that may move things for the better hopefully. I looked back 6 years and Sep is anywhere from a small $8b surplus, such as last year, to a $104b surplus in 2014.

However, with August traditionally being a deficit anywhere from a third to a half of what this year's August was -- anything is possible. A 300% increase over a handful of years is not something to ignore. I don't think we'll see that $1 trillion number but we may end up with something close to it -- $940-950b in one year. I suspect September will be a deficit month, for the first time in many years, although a small one -- $50-60b.

Concerning? It should be.

The policies of this administration have been coming into effect for the last year, creating this impact. The first year's economic issues or successes are usually attributed to the preceding president, but anything past that is affected by the newer policies. Such a drastic change from one year to the next can only indicate that something has gone wrong and unless it is discussed, accepted and changed, the next few years will be much, much worse. This overspending is not sustainable.

It does look like some September numbers may have fallen into August due to the calendar and holidays, so September may look better than expected, but we need to keep a close eye.

Here is the link for the current issue of the Monthly Treasury Statement - August 2018.

The next one will come out on this page, if I'm not around to post it -- refresh the Current Issue page.

All the previous issues can be found here for comparison.

Thank you all for reading and commenting.

Obama's was double that.

This is because of the tax cuts.

Tax cuts working.

If Hillary didn't eat babies this wouldn't have happened.

Obama wasn't born in the US.

If Trump didn't go golfing every week.

Ok, well.. there is my prediction for the first 20 responses they will all cover those topics.

If everything is so bad why is Obama taking credit for it?

a reply to: Kharron

I guess everyone is happy that the tax cuts for the 1% will be costing our grandchildren billions, and they will be in debt forever.

a reply to: Kharron

Money Well Spent . Red Turns to Black by 2024 . Good Enough for Me.............)

Stop spending money

How about 20 million on a fake Russian collusion scandle. How many schools would that help?

a reply to: SocratesJohnson

Just got all that funded from the Mueller investigation from your boy Manifort....

originally posted by: toysforadults
Obama's was double that.

This is because of the tax cuts.

Tax cuts working.

If Hillary didn't eat babies this wouldn't have happened.

Obama wasn't born in the US.

If Trump didn't go golfing every week.

Ok, well.. there is my prediction for the first 20 responses they will all cover those topics.

That's funny, and likely a good prediction of the replies.

I'll handle that first one, that it was double under Obama -- no, it wasn't... anyone can go back year by year and check. I left a link for that.

The economy stabilized around 2012/2013 after the Bush recession and the deficit was around 40-50% lower following the recession years.

Here are the post recession deficit numbers, from the Treasury statements:

2013 $680b
2014 $483b
2015 $439b
2016 $587b
2017 $666b
2018 $898b so far

Looks like 2016 was already on the way up and that was under Obama, 2017 is starting to look worse but still pretty ok. 2018 sticks out like a sore thumb. 2019 may show recession year numbers 2009-2012, but without the recession, and definitely headed for one.

The good news is that a large chunk of the deficit is money the Govt. is no longer stealing from taxpayers through exorbitant rates.

a reply to: Kharron

Rough burn man. Way to call out the fake posters.

originally posted by: SocratesJohnson
Stop spending money

How about 20 million on a fake Russian collusion scandle. How many schools would that help?

You mean the scandal that just got paid for by $46m in Manafort forfeitures?

You should stop saying that because that witch hunt has now paid for itself for another two years. Imagine if others have to forfeit assets as well, this investigation may not only root out the swamp, it could be very profitable for the government.

a reply to: Kharron

You might want to add 2009-2012. All those trillion+ Obama deficits.

a reply to: Kharron

just out of curiosity , were you doing this when Obama was running up deficits ?

originally posted by: JasonBillung

originally posted by: UKTruth
The good news is that a large chunk of the deficit is money the Govt. is no longer stealing from taxpayers through exorbitant rates.

What does that even mean?

Even from Trumpland this is being hit with the stupid stick...

Oh I see.. and here's me thinking that lower receipts had an impact on deficits.

originally posted by: UKTruth
a reply to: Kharron

You might want to add 2009-2012. All those trillion+ Obama deficits.

Why don't you do that?

And along with it it would be fitting to explain why that is so, what the bailouts were about and who did the one that shows up on 2009 deficit?

originally posted by: Kharron

originally posted by: UKTruth
a reply to: Kharron

You might want to add 2009-2012. All those trillion+ Obama deficits.

Why don't you do that?

And along with it it would be fitting to explain why that is so, what the bailouts were about and who did the one that shows up on 2009 deficit?

2009 - 1.413 Trillion
2010 - 1.294 Trillion
2011 - 1.295 Trillion
2012 - 1.087 Trillion

So that would be over $5Trillion in Obama's first term.

a reply to: UKTruth

I am sure that you love your 1% overlord masters, who sit day by day enjoying wealth and comfortable lives, while you "Trump it up" here, and while the middle class sinks slowly into poverty.

originally posted by: JasonBillung
a reply to: UKTruth

I am sure that you love your 1% overlord masters, who sit day by day enjoying wealth and comfortable lives, while you "Trump it up" here, and while the middle class sinks slowly into poverty.

Eh?

So do lower taxes reduce receipts or not?
Do lower receipts have an impact on the deficit?

Simple questions, even for someone hit by a stupid stick.