Budget surplus still growing

The Treasury Department Tuesday reported a federal deficit of $11.2 billion in August, down 68 percent from a year ago. That puts the surplus for the first 11 months of fiscal 1998 at $31.8 billion.

With quarterly tax payments flowing into federal coffers in September, the surplus for the full year should easily double that $31.8 billion and surpass the latest government projections, the Associated Press reported. The September surplus last year was $49.9 billion.

Two months ago, the Congressional Budget Office projected a $63 billion surplus for FY98, which ends Sept. 30. Four months ago, the administration forecast $39 billion in black ink.

Whatever the surplus, 1998 will mark the first year without a deficit since 1969.