Federal deficit surged 12% last year. Even though tax collections grew, spending exploded faster

After falling by 4% in the first full fiscal year of Donald Trump’s second term, the federal budget deficit surged 12% to an eyewatering $1.99 trillion in FY 2026. As Art Laffer, the creator of the eponymous Laffer Curve, insisted, the sweeping tax cuts of 2025’s One Big Beautiful Bill did not decrease federal revenue. […]

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