Deficits on the Rise

Grist for the Dean mill: Estimate for '04 Deficit Is Increased to $480 Billion

The federal government will run at a record $480 billion deficit in the next fiscal year, $5 billion more than the Bush administration had predicted, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said today. But the office saw the possibility of enormous deficits in the years ahead.

On paper, at least, federal deficits could begin to decline after next year, the office said. But it said that under the most optimistic projections, they could total nearly $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years.

But the $1.4 trillion does not take into account the cost of reconstruction in Iraq. And based on some changes that are highly probable-- enactment of a prescription drug program under Medicare, for example -- budget deficits could total $5 trillion over the next 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office said.