2010 Deficit number is in: $1.3 trillion

Here is how the AP discusses the numbers officially released on Friday:

The Obama administration said Friday the federal deficit hit a near-record $1.3 trillion for the just-completed budget year.

That means the government had to borrow 37 cents out of every dollar it spent as tax revenues continued to lag while spending on food stamps and unemployment benefits went up as joblessness neared double-digit levels in a struggling economy.

While expected, the eye-popping deficit numbers provide Republican critics of President Barack Obama's fiscal stewardship with fresh ammunition less than three weeks ahead of the midterm congressional elections. The deficit was $122 billion less than last year, a modest improvement. . . .

Outside of the bailout, the federal budget went up by 9 percent in the 2010 budget year to $3.5 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office reported last week. Food stamp payments rose 27 percent as record numbers of people took advantage of the programs, while unemployment benefits rose 34 percent as Congress extended benefits for the long-term jobless. . . . .

So if the Federal government spending hadn't grown by 9 percent this past year, the deficit would have come in at almost exactly a trillion dollars, $300 billion less than it did.

Over the last two years, the increase in spending has been 21.4 percent (excluding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, deposit insurance, and TARP). Excluding those expenditures, the government spending has been:

Spending rolled in for the year that ended September 30 at $3.45 trillion, second only to 2009's $3.52 trillion in the record books.

Biden says that "GOP on deficits is like an arsonist becoming fire marshal"

Vice President Joe Biden said at a fundraiser Friday night that Republicans have "zero, zero, zero" credibility on reducing the deficit, and such talk from the GOP was "like making an arsonist the fire marshal." . . .
“These guys are not for real … They have zero, zero, zero credibility on deficits," he said. "The last guy to balance a budget was William Jefferson Clinton … These guys talking about deficits is like making an arsonist the fire marshal.” . . .

OK, so let's look at the deficit over the last few years, starting with the 2001 Budget under Clinton (B-78).

Republican control of Congress, Democrat President
2001 +128.2 billion

Split control of Congress, Republican President
2002 -157.8 billion
2003 -377.6 billion

Republican control of Congress, Republican President
2004 -412.7 billion
2005 -318.3 billion
2006 -248.2 billion
2007 -160.7 billion

Democrat control of Congress, Republican President
2008 -458.6 billion
Democrat control of Congress, Republican and Democrat President signing spending bill
2009 -1.412.7 billion