Tuesday, 12 March 2013 02:34
Gov't fiscal outlook improving - but only for now
WASHINGTON (AP) — In spite of budget wrangling and finger-pointing by U.S. policymakers, the government's short-term fiscal picture isn't all that bad. It's actually getting better — at least for now.
Washington is borrowing about 25 cents for every dollar it spends, down from over 40 cents just a few years ago.
And the budget deficit is dropping to $845 billion after topping $1 trillion for four straight years. The Congressional Budget Office says the deficit will keep shrinking — to $430 billion by 2015.
That's the good news.
But without a fix, the government's finances will start to worsen again as the three major "entitlement" programs — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — become more and more expensive and unmanageable under the increasing weight of retiring baby boomers.
Washington is borrowing about 25 cents for every dollar it spends, down from over 40 cents just a few years ago.
And the budget deficit is dropping to $845 billion after topping $1 trillion for four straight years. The Congressional Budget Office says the deficit will keep shrinking — to $430 billion by 2015.
That's the good news.
But without a fix, the government's finances will start to worsen again as the three major "entitlement" programs — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — become more and more expensive and unmanageable under the increasing weight of retiring baby boomers.
Published in
National News
Latest News
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
NEW WHOOPING COUGH STRAIN IN US RAISES QUESTIONS
NEW YORK (AP) -- Researchers have discovered the first U.S. cases of whooping cough caused by a germ that may be resistant to the vaccine. Health officials are looking into whet...
EU: TEST SHOW NO SAFETY ISSUES WITH HORSEMEAT
BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union says more than 7,000 tests across the 27-nation bloc on products labeled as beef show that nearly 5 percent of them contained horse meat. The...
FDA WANTS CANCER WARNINGS ON TANNING BEDS
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Indoor tanning beds would come with new warnings about the risk of cancer and be subject to more stringent federal oversight under a proposal unveiled Monday by ...
Health officials: 1 in 50 school kids have autism
NEW YORK (AP) — A government survey of parents says 1 in 50 U.S. schoolchildren has autism, surpassing another federal estimate for the disorder. Health officials say the new nu...
MORNING-AFTER PILL USE UP TO 1 IN 9 YOUNGER WOMEN
NEW YORK (AP) -- About 1 in 9 younger women have used the morning-after pill after sex, according to the first government report to focus on emergency contraception since its appro...
WOMEN HAVE NEW OPTIONS FOR BREAST CANCER SURGERY
CHICAGO (AP) -- Treating breast cancer almost always involves surgery, and for years the choice was just having the lump or the whole breast removed. Now, new approaches are dramat...
TENNIS ELBOW? STEROID SHOTS NOT BEST LONG-TERM FIX
CHICAGO (AP) -- Commonly used steroid shots may worsen tennis elbow in the long run and increase chances that the painful condition will reappear, a small study found. By contra...
FDA head says menu labeling 'thorny' issue
WASHINGTON (AP) — Diners will have to wait a little longer to find calorie counts on most restaurant chain menus, in supermarkets and on vending machines. The head of the Food a...
