You wouldn’t think it was possible, with so many people out of work and so many on food stamps, but it is true.
Although money is extremely tight for so many people, federal tax revenues hit an all-time record of $1.891 trillion in the first seven months of the fiscal year.
And you might then think, wow, that must mean the deficit is shrinking. The federal deficit was $262.7 billion, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement on Monday.
Yes, that’s the deficit for just one month.
Every month the Treasury Department publishes the government’s “total receipts.” That number is an aggregate of revenue from individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, social insurance and retirement taxes – including Social Security and Medicare taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, customs duties, and “miscellaneous receipts.”
The report each month provides figures for the most recent month, plus the current fiscal year to date.
The amount collected from October through April was $1.891 trillion. The amount collected in the first seven months of fiscal 2014 was a record. Obviously, the record has been broken, beaten by $171.3 billion.
The previous record was in the first seven months of fiscal 2007, when the government collected $1.703 trillion in 2015 dollars.
Despite the record revenue collected by the government this fiscal year, they still have a spending problem, chewing through $2.174 trillion, a deficit of approximately $262.7 billion.
Great! Our government is still in the red no matter what revenue they bring in.
When will it end?
Answer: probably never.
