Debt Continues to Explode

"So one of the central goals of this administration is restoring fiscal responsibility....I'm still committed to halving the deficit we inherited by the end of my first term -- cutting it in half. "

Barack Obama, Brookings Institute, Dec. 8, 2009

Note: Barack Obama continues to use the right words, but his actions belie his rhetoric. The federal deficit for fiscal year 2009 of $1.42 trillion was triple that of 2008, the previous largest deficit in history. Now, the deficit for the first quarter of FY 2010 is running $66 billion greater than last year. Obama likes to blame George W. Bush, but Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have controlled Congress and thus the nation's checkbook since January, 2007. Most American's understand that you can't borrow yourself wealthy - it would help if the Democrat leadership did.

Federal deficit hits all-time December high

By Bill Nichols, Politico, January, 14, 2010

The federal budget deficit hit an all-time high for the month of December, and deficit spending for the first three months of the new budget year is also surpassing last year's record pace.

The $91.85 billion budget deficit in December, a record for the month, marked a record 15 straight months of government red ink, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.

The monthly budget gap, up from a $51.75 billion deficit in December 2008, pushed the budget shortfall for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 to $388.51 billion. That compares to a $332.49 billion deficit for the same period a year ago.

The December deficit was in line with Wall Street and Congressional Budget Office estimates for a $92 billion gap.

Last year's annual deficit surged to $1.42 trillion, more than three times the record of the previous year - an imbalance of $454.8 billion set in 2008.

The Obama administration is projecting that this year's deficit will climb even higher, to $1.5 trillion, which would be 5.6 percent higher than the 2009 deficit. That figure will be revised when the president sends his new budget to Congress in early February.

President Barack Obama's deficit-cutting plans are expected to be featured prominently in the budget he will submit to Congress in early February for the 2011 budget year that begins Oct. 1.

Through the first three months of the budget year, government revenues totaled $487.78 billion, a drop of 10.9 percent from the same period a year ago.

Outlays through December totaled $878.28 billion, a decline of 0.4 percent from the same period a year ago. That drop reflected smaller outlays for the government's $700 billion rescue program compared with the same period a year ago, when the program was just getting started.