Reuters reports that US Treasury spending and revenue reached fresh highs in April.

US government posted a $US159.3 billion surplus in April, helped by the mid-month deadline for individuals meeting 2007 tax obligations, but it was down from the prior year’s surplus, the Treasury Department reported on Monday.

In the first seven months of fiscal 2008, which ends on September 30, the government’s budget deficit swelled by 88.4 per cent to $US152.2 billion, from $US80.8 billion in the first seven months of fiscal 2007.

In April 2007, the surplus was $US177.7 billion.

According to Reuters, the US national budget is under serious strain due to President Bush’s economic ’stimulus’ program and mounting costs of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Peter Shciff in The Daily Reckoning says the Bush ’stimulus’ package is really a handout to lenders. If there are no tax increases on the table to fund the rebates, who ends up footing the bill?