The US Government is playing the biggest role in the economy in decades. The $4.2 trillion projected budget deficit would represent 19% of the economy—the largest share in American history, outside the peak of World War II, and double the 2009 level during the Great Recession. In nominal dollars, the annual budget deficit had never before exceeded $1.4 trillion.
Brian Riedl is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He is the author of the new report, "Coronavirus Budget Projections: Escalating Deficits and Debt." Follow him on Twitter @Brian_Riedl.
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