The Obama administration is ending its term the way it began almost eight years ago — with an increasing federal budget deficit at which officials point a predictable finger of blame.

The latest Congressional Budget Office report forecasts a deficit of about $590 billion (3.2 percent of gross domestic product) for the 2016 fiscal year. It’s the first time in six years that deficits are increasing as a share of GDP, The Washington Times reports.

At this rate, the CBO projects deficits will return to trillion-dollar levels by 2024.

Among reasons for the increase in red ink, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest cites an aging population and, of course, Republican-sponsored tax cuts — which also were supported by Democrat lawmakers in a budget package signed by President Obama.

And whereas the administration hails ObamaCare for supposedly holding down health care costs, it will be up to the next administration to take steps “to reform the health care system in this country that is certainly increasing in cost.”

No disconnect there.

For all the administration’s parsing and posturing, the problem is federal spending, which is projected to reach $6.2 trillion by 2026, up from $3.9 trillion this year. Under Mr. Obama, the total national debt rose from $10.6 trillion to nearly $20 trillion.

Who’s the next president going to blame for that?

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(c)2016 The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.)

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