Where Did The $658 Billion Go?

摘要

The federal budget deficit for the fiscal year just completed was 3.6% of GDP. That is not the largest peacetime deficit ratio on record. That distinction goes to fiscal year 1983, when the deficit ratio was 6% of GDP. Nevertheless, during the past four fiscal years—the federal government's accounting year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30—there was a $658 billion swing from a budget surplus of $236 billion in fiscal year 2000 to an estimated deficit of $422 billion in fiscal year 2004. And that swing from plus to minus was the largest peacetime swing in both absolute terms and as a proportion of GDP. Where did the money go?