American Empire Spending Its Way to Oblivion

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office today announced, to a stunned audience of financial observers, that the federal government would run a $1.2 trillion budget deficit in calendar 2009. Why is the number so staggering? Because $1.2 trillion is equal to nearly the entire GDP of the nation of Canada.

The biggest flood of red ink the world has ever known

How much is $1.186 trillion — or $1,186,000,000,000, written out the long way?

Why do I bring this up? Because that $1.186 trillion figure is the projected 2009 deficit, according to the latest report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

And it is downright scary.

Estimates say fed budget deficit nearing $407B

The worsening deficit is largely due to continuing weakness in the economy, high energy and food prices, and the slump in the housing and financial markets, the CBO said. And the economy could still slide into a recession, according to the forecast.