US and Canada Both Face Significant Budget Deficits, Highlighting Fiscal Challenges
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The US federal budget deficit for February increased as outlays surged and interest costs on the national debt continued to rise. The deficit for the month was $296 billion, which was 13% larger than the shortfall in February 2023. Outlays grew by 8% to $567 billion, a record for the month, while receipts rose by 3% to $271 billion. The deficit for the first five months of the fiscal year rose by $106 billion, or 15%, to $828 billion. Interest expenses on the national debt reached a record $76 billion, a 67% increase from February 2023. The weighted-average interest rate on Treasury securities rose to 3.2% in February.
However, economist Karl W. Smith argues that the $1.5 trillion federal budget deficit is an unreliable measure of U.S. fiscal health. Instead, economists prefer to focus on...
#newstr #UsBudgetDeficit #CanadianBudgetDeficit #FiscalHealth #GovernmentSpending #InterestRates