Trump's chief economic advisor says the deficit is going down, but the government is not in agreement

Larry Kudlow, the president's chief economic advisor, said Friday on the Fox Business Network that the federal deficit is "shrinking rapidly" as a result of President Trump's pro-growth policies. But the Treasury Department, the Congressional Budget Office and outside think tanks disagree with him.

"As the economy recovers, more people work, better jobs and better careers, these incomes rise, and the deficit, which is one of the other critics, declines and declines rapidly Kudlow said Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business, who did not seem to challenge him on this statement. "Growth solves a lot of problems."

Kudlow did not say how he believes that the deficit – essentially the amount spent by the government that is more than what it takes as income – declines, when the Treasury Department and the Congressional budget Bureau says the opposite. (The deficit should not be confused with the national debt, which is the accumulation of deficits, year after year.)

The federal deficit of fiscal year 2017 was $ 666 billion, according to the Treasury Department. According to figures from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) of April, it is expected to reach $ 804 billion in 2018 and $ 981 billion in 2019.

The CBO released a report Tuesday alarming about the fiscal future of the country . the conclusion of the GOP tax law is expected to add $ 1.84 billion to the deficit over the next decade. Economists, as well as the CBO, attribute a combination of increased spending and changes in tax legislation that result in lower revenues, in addition to spending already on programs such as Social Security and Medicare. .

The Treasury Department also disagrees with Kudlow's assessment that the deficit is going in the right direction.

In May, the Treasury Department posted a budget deficit of $ 147 billion, 66% more than the deficit posted in May 2017.

The country's overall debt-to-GDP ratio is the highest high since after World War II, and is expected to be close to 100 percent by 2028, the CBO says.

This is despite statements by Mr. Trump at the Washington Post last spring that he would eliminate the national debt "over an eight-year period." The national debt, which amounted to $ 19.9 trillion when Mr. Trump took office exceeded $ 21 trillion in March.