On the recordFebruary 2, 2010
The time for fiscal responsibility is now. Unfortunately, budget deficits are not a new phenomenon. We had budget deficits in 74 of the past 100 years. In fiscal year 1969, under Lyndon Johnson, we had a budget surplus of $3.2 billion. However, each of the next 28 budgets was in deficit. But starting in fiscal year 1998, under President Clinton, we had four straight budget surpluses, totalling more than $559 billion. In fact, the long term budget outlook predicted $5.6 trillion in surpluses. The last time we had four consecutive budget surpluses was in fiscal year 1930. The Great Recession, which began in 2007, dramatically increased unemployment to a peak of 10.2 percent, a 26-year high. For those fortunate enough to remain employed, the recession led to depressed wages and benefits; growing at just 1.5 percent, the lowest level since 1982. As a result, families suffered and Federal income revenues declined precipitously. In 2009, corporate income revenue declined 55 percent, or $166 billion, from its 2007 level, and individual income revenues fell 20 percent, or $230 billion. In addition to the tremendous toll this recession took on the American public, rising unemployment and stagnant wages added almost $400 billion to our debt. In fact, total Federal revenues, which historically have represented roughly 20 percent of our gross domestic product declined to 14.8 percent in 2009.
