Gov't Spending Spike and 15% Less Revenue = Lots of Red

The WSJ details:

The U.S. budget deficit broke past $1 trillion in June, a grim testament to the recession and financial crisis. The federal government spent $94.32 billion more than it made in the ninth month of fiscal 2009, the Treasury Department said Monday in its monthly budget statement.

With that latest spill of red ink, the budget gap, for the first nine months of fiscal 2009, widened to $1.086 trillion. A year earlier, the deficit was $285.85 billion for the same nine months.

In June 2008, the government ran a surplus of $33.55 billion. Fiscal years start Oct. 1. The White House has predicted the deficit will climb to $1.841 trillion this fiscal year. The biggest deficit for any fiscal year on record is $454.8 billion, which was rung up in fiscal 2008.

A survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires forecast a June deficit of $97.0 billion. June federal government spending totaled $309.68 billion, compared to $226.37 billion in June 2008.

Year-to-date federal government spending totaled $2.67 trillion, compared to $2.22 trillion in the first nine months of fiscal 2008.

The chart below shows the rolling twelve month change in receipt, as well as outlays, and the variance between the two (An inexact formula? Yes, but it puts this all in perspective). What this shows is a massive spike in spending AND a massive cliff dive in receipts.

Source: Treasury