The Federal deficit is under $500,000,000,000 for the first time since Senator Obama voted for TARP and President Bush signed it. That’s what passes for good news.
The bad news is that the deficit remains larger than any of Bush’s non-TARP years — with record federal revenues. Under Bush’s last and worst year of spending, this year’s tax receipts would have allowed Washington to just about break even.
In other words, $450,000,000,000 — Bush’s worst non-TARP deficit — looks to be about as good as it ever gets for Obama.
