Wednesday, August 18, 2010

How Big is the Federal Deficit?

Kevin G. Hall and Robert A. Rankin want us to be very worried about the Federal deficit:

The national debt is rising to levels that have never been seen in the United States during peacetime … This year's federal budget deficit alone is expected to close the fiscal year Sept. 30 in a range between a staggering $1.3 trillion and $1.42 trillion. That's about six times President Ronald Reagan's biggest deficit, and he was blasted as a dangerous budget-buster.


OK, the nominal deficit for this year will be about 6 times the nominal deficit in 1986 but might we also point out that nominal GDP is about 3 times what it was almost 25 years ago?

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