Budget Deficit Tops $1 Trillion for Fourth Straight Year

(Newsroom America) -- The federal government has spent more than $1 trillion over what it took in last fiscal year for the fourth straight year, according to Congressional Budget Office figures, with three weeks still left to go in the fiscal year.

The CBO, which releases monthly estimates on the budget deficit, said the government overspent by $192 billion in August, putting federal budget books $1.17 trillion in arrears for fiscal 2012, which ends Sept. 30, the Washington Times reported.

The August deficit was the highest on record for that month, though the total overall debt is lower this year than the $1.23 trillion debt this time last year.

CBO officials said rising pay rates around the country have led to an increase in tax revenues. The non-partisan agency also said lower spending has helped keep the debt lower as well.

Lower costs for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have led to smaller spending increases, as has reduced spending on Medicaid.

But, CBO said, spending on Medicare rose 4 percent last year and spending on Social Security increased by 6 percent.

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