Deficit Future

From Foxnews.com

Not since World War II has America spent so much money so quickly.

In the last two years, the United States has run up deficits that amount to a combined $2.5 trillion dollars -- almost a fourth of all the debt the nation has taken on in its entire history.

"It's really staggering to think we're going to have trillion-dollar deficits for the next several years," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told FOX News.

The deficit for January alone totaled $83.8 billion, worse than the $78 billion economists expected. The government had run a surplus of $17.8 billion in January 2008.

The huge deterioration in the government's finances reflects the recession, which has cut into tax revenues, and the large amounts of money being spent from the $700 billion finance rescue plan that Congress passed in October. About three-fourths of the deficit increase was related to spending on the bailout program.