U.S. 2012 deficit at $1.1T, estimate says

WASHINGTON A new estimate puts the U.S. deficit for the just-completed 2012 budget year at $1.1 trillion, the fourth straight year of trillion dollar deficits on President Barack Obama's watch.

The result was a slight improvement from the 2011 deficit of $1.3 trillion.

The bleak figures from the Congressional Budget Office, while expected, add fodder for the heated presidential campaign, in which Obama's handling of the economy and the budget is a main topic leading up to the Nov. 6 election.

• Fed meeting: QE3 has set sail
• State budget crises: Two wins, one loss
• Economic recovery likely -- benefiting election winner

Friday's release came as the government announced that the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent last month, matching the rate when Obama took office.

The administration will release the official deficit numbers around mid-October, but they should line up closely with the CBO estimate, which shows that the government borrowed 31 cents for every dollar it spent.

Obama inherited an economy in recession and a deficit in excess of $1 trillion. He promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term, but deficits have instead remained at eye-popping levels, including a record $1.4 trillion deficit in 2009 and deficits of $1.3 trillion in each of the past two years. The 2012 deficit was 7 percent of the size of the economy, an unsustainably high level.

In Wednesday night's debate, Obama said he has a budget plan to shave $4 trillion from the deficit over the coming decade, but he counts $1 trillion from savings already accomplished in budget deals with Republicans last year and $848 billion by winding down wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Republican nominee Mitt Romney promises to balance the budget within eight to ten years but has not illustrated how he would do so. His budget claims are suspect as well since he promises to cut the overall budget by about $500 billion in 2016 alone but at the same time Romney promises a sharp boost in military spending and would restore more than $700 billion in Democratic cuts to health care for the elderly over the coming decade. He has ruled out increasing taxes.