Budget deficit falls to lowest level of Obama's tenure


The federal budget deficit has fallen to $486 billion, its lowest level since President Obama took office at the start of 2009, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
That mark was $195 billion less than the deficit Washington ran in the 2013 fiscal year. And at 2.8 percent of the national GDP, it was actually a little lower than the historical average from the past four decades. A nine percent increase in revenue combined with a one percent reduction in spending led to to the smaller deficit, per the CBO.
Following the economic meltdown, the budget deficit ballooned to $1.4 trillion for the 2009 fiscal year.
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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
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