Trump aims for Obama-like federal deficits

Published On Nov 26, 2024, 9:32 AM

Donald Trump aims to reduce federal deficits to levels last seen in 2015 under Barack Obama, through the appointment of Treasury Secretary pick Scott Bessent who proposes a plan involving reducing the deficit to 3% of GDP while also boosting economic growth and increasing domestic oil production. However, the article suggests that significant cutbacks in mandatory spending programs such as Social Security and Medicare may be necessary to achieve these goals, which are politically challenging. The article highlights that past deficits have been driven by automated government spending, and it is unclear if Trump's targets will be met considering the challenges present in the current economic landscape.