The United States budget deficit in the first four months of the year has soared 20 percent compared to the same period last year, putting the government on course to notch its first $1 trillion deficit since 2012.
The country's budget shortfall ballooned in the first week of 2020, even as the US economy continued to rally at a steady momentum. The Treasury Department on Wednesday disclosed that the deficit from October to January hit $389 billion, up to $79 billion from the same period of 2019.
In the last four quarters, the government has spent $1.05 trillion more than it has raked in. All the red negative figures have pushed the country's total debt to $23.4 trillion.
Comparatively, receipts actually were on the rise, coming in at $1.18 trillion through January relative to $1.1 trillion a year earlier.
The spending rate, however, is adding to the deficit with outlays being recorded at $1.57 trillion against $1.42 trillion in fiscal 2019 for the first four months. This translates to a rise in spending of 9.5 percent.
US President Donald Trump sent a new budget proposal to the House of Representatives on Monday that the shortfall is estimated to hit the $1 trillion mark this year, but then decline in the next 10 years.
However, the Congressional Budget Office sees this year's deficit to surpass $1 trillion and remain above the figure in the next few years.
Record-Low jobless figures in the previous months have helped lift tax receipts, but the government has consistently hiked spending on health care and the military. January's unchanged receipt numbers were up 10 percent to $372 billion, while unadjusted outlays climbed 22 percent to $405 billion.
In his new budget blueprint for fiscal 2021, Trump is considering to allocate $4.8 trillion but would seek to adjust shortfalls by making reductions to local programs like foodstamps and healthcare.
The Trump administration anticipates that if the House agrees with his budget reductions, which is highly unlikely, it would return to balance in the next 15 years.
Based on a report by CBO, government loans are likely to continue to rise significantly in the next 10 years, reaching an unprecedented $31 trillion by 2030.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell on Tuesday cautioned lawmakers that the budget shortfall is at an unsustainable level and that it would leave the government with fewer options to deal with a financial slump.
The US first registered a $1 trillion deficit from 2009 to 2012 as profits plunged during the country's worst financial crisis since the 1930s. Expenditures rose for programs like unemployment benefits and bank bailouts after the 2008 financial crunch.
