Welcome to the Trillion-Dollar Deficit!

Nick Gillespie | July 13, 2009

Nine months into the fiscal year, the federal deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time.

The imbalance is intensifying fears about higher interest rates and inflation, and already pressuring the value of the dollar. There's also concern about trying to reverse the deficit - by reducing government spending or raising taxes - in the midst of a harsh recession.

The Treasury Department said Monday that the deficit in June totaled $94.3 billion, pushing the total since the budget year started in October to nearly $1.1 trillion.

The deficit has been propelled by the huge sum the government has spent to combat the recession and financial crisis, combined with a sharp decline in tax revenues. Paying for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also is a major factor.

More here.

The bestest part of this all? We've still got until the end of September to make this record the equivalent of Bob Beamon's gold-medal winning great leap forward at the Mexico City Olympics, i.e., the sort of record that hopefully won't be broken or even approached again for decades.

To be sure, total spending as a percentage of GDP has been higher (during World War II), but the numbers we're putting up are absolutely mind-boggling in something like peacetime, especially when you consider what we're getting for all the coin we (and our grandkids' grandkids!) are shelling out. Which is pretty close to bupkis.

George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Democrats, Republicans: We couldn't have done it without you!

Reason on deficits.

Comments

|7.13.09 @ 5:33PM|#

We've still got until the end of September to make this record the equivalent of Bob Beamon's gold-medal winning great leap forward at the Mexico City Olympics, i.e., the sort of record that hopefully won't be broken or even approached again for decades.

I give this record two years, three tops.

It should make it through the next fiscal year, because this fiscal year got charged with two stimulus packages. By the year after, though . . . .

Syd Henderson|7.13.09 @ 5:41PM|#

Hey, we didn't even need Obama. We were already headed there (though later in the year.)

Next year, though, he owns it.

|7.13.09 @ 6:13PM|#

We've still got until the end of September to make this record the equivalent of Bob Beamon's gold-medal winning great leap forward at the Mexico City Olympics, i.e., the sort of record that hopefully won't be broken or even approached again for decades.

No, this will be more like Mark McGuire breaking Roger Maris's home run record. The government is on steroids so this one won't last for long.

|7.13.09 @ 7:30PM|#

YES WE CAN!

Rich|7.13.09 @ 7:41PM|#

A million millions ... "Soon you're talking real money." Time for the Nuevo Dólar, perhaps?

JB|7.13.09 @ 8:46PM|#

Obama is already so much worse than Bush.

I guess that should be no surprise since he's the first Affirmative Action president. There is a reason he never released his test scores.

|7.13.09 @ 8:50PM|#

A million millions ..

Apparently our children isn't learning.

And that's the third time I've seen the same mistake made.

|7.13.09 @ 9:47PM|#

Davebo-

And that's the third time I've seen the same mistake made.

Yet, "a million million" still equals a trillion.

Please correct me.

Tricky Prickears|7.13.09 @ 10:06PM|#

As long as the Chinese are a buyin', we'll keep a sellin'. They think those securitized mortgages were on bad paper, wait 'till they get load of these Treasuries.

|7.13.09 @ 10:53PM|#

I think this one is standing for a little while. I don't see another $700 billion TARP coming for a while.

|7.13.09 @ 10:58PM|#

Just wait for the actual cost of Obamacare and CapnTax Mo. That'll make $700billion look like $100 million did a couple years ago.

Ebeneezer Scrooge|7.14.09 @ 12:50AM|#

As long as the Chinese are a buyin', we'll keep a sellin'.

So at what point do the Chinese gain a controlling share of the US government?

EoT|7.14.09 @ 12:56AM|#

Perhaps Davebo is from a Long Scale country, where a trillion is 10^18.

The Short Scale is used in all English speaking countries and is increasingly the global standard. In other words Davebo is both ignorant and snobbish.

The Moar you Know!

Kreel Sarloo|7.14.09 @ 5:43AM|#

"In other words Davebo is both ignorant and snobbish."

So for all intensive porpoises, you're saying that Davebo needs to tow the lion.

|7.14.09 @ 9:56AM|#

I would have likened it more to Mary T Meagher's 200 butterfly record in that it came way the hell out of nowhere, won't be touched again for a while, but once it gets broken once, it'll just keep on getting "improved" upon (like, say, when our structural deficits for the Medi-scam programs kick in)

Craig|7.14.09 @ 12:14PM|#

We've still got until the end of September to make this record the equivalent of Bob Beamon's gold-medal winning great leap forward at the Mexico City Olympics, i.e., the sort of record that hopefully won't be broken or even approached again for decades.

I'm afraid it'll be more like when Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile barrier, which was matched by dozens of runners shortly thereafter.

Kalle (kafir forever)|7.14.09 @ 6:19PM|#

Apart from Zimbobwe, are other nations as deeply in trouble? this feels like a total disintegration of America's accumulated capital.