Budge! Deficit Seen Smaller For Fiscal 1978: Budget Deficit Seen Smaller For Fiscal 1978
The Carter administration disclosed yesterday that the fiscal 1978 budget deficit it thought last January was going to total $61.8 billion probably will come closer to $53 billionÛÓbut not because anyone in the government planned ib-that way.</br></br>The $8.8 billion disparity stems mostly from a continuation of the mysterious government spending shortfall that plagued budget makers last year. While officials thought they'd squelched the problem, it apparently is back again this yearÛÓand no one knows why.</br></br>1976,	when budget officials discovered by accident that the various departments and agencies werenÛªt spending what they were supposed to. In fiscal 1977, the disparity reached S14.7 billionÛÓfive times that of previous years.</br></br>While the shortfall happily results in a lower federal budget deficit each year, it also poses a serious problem for economic policymakers: The reduced deficit also provides visibly less stimulus to the economy than the administration planned.</br></br>The Congressional Budget Office estimated several months ago that the shortfall in 1976 resulted in a significantly slower growth rate for the economy during that year than otherwise might have occurred if the government had spent what it was supposed to.