President Truman took a long, not so happy look at the budget last week, and reported that the deficit would be a huge $5.5 billion, instead of the mere $873 million he had predicted in January. It was the second biggest in U.S. peacetime history (the biggest: 1940-41's $6 billion).
A lot of the deficit, Truman said, could be blamed on the summer slump, which had decreased tax receipts by $3 billion. Expenditures had increased by $1.6 billion. Cuts in the defense budget and international aid were more than offset by $1.3 billion extra paid out for veterans' benefits, $800 million extra...