*Bush came into office with an advantage few presidents have enjoyed – a $230 billion surplus. But due to a $1.35 trillion tax cut in 2001, a $1.5 trillion tax cut in 2003, and a massive defense buildup through the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Bush quickly blew through that surplus. … The Bush administration projected a budget deficit of $400 billion. After the financial crisis emerged last fall and the ensuing bailouts, Bush’s budget deficit ballooned to over $1 trillion.”
Bush projected a $482 billion deficit when he submitted his budget for fiscal year 2008/09. It ended up being $1.3 trillion. That’s where the $482 billion figure came from, it was only a projection.
This from the Center for American Progress:
*Bush came into office with an advantage few presidents have enjoyed – a $230 billion surplus. But due to a $1.35 trillion tax cut in 2001, a $1.5 trillion tax cut in 2003, and a massive defense buildup through the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Bush quickly blew through that surplus. … The Bush administration projected a budget deficit of $400 billion. After the financial crisis emerged last fall and the ensuing bailouts, Bush’s budget deficit ballooned to over $1 trillion.”
Bush projected a $482 billion deficit when he submitted his budget for fiscal year 2008/09. It ended up being $1.3 trillion. That’s where the $482 billion figure came from, it was only a projection.