U.S. Ran a $149 Billion Deficit In July, CBO Estimates

The U.S. recorded a $149 billion deficit in July, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Friday. That's $55 million more than the deficit of July 2014. Despite an 8% rise in receipts from individual income and payroll taxes, which led to a nearly 4% rise in revenue, outlays rose by 21%. A shift of certain payments from August to July -- because August 1 fell on a weekend -- led to the rise in spending, which otherwise would have been about 7% more than the previous year, mostly due to Medicaid, Social Security and Medicare. The fiscal year to July deficit has been $463 billion, or $2 billion larger than the first 10 months of fiscal 2014.