U.S. deficit nearly $1 trillion in first half of FY2009

It wasn't long ago that the entire U.S. budget was $1 trillion. Now the deficit for just half a year is $1 trillion. We are headed towards a dollar collapse and raging inflation of that I'm sure.-Lou

U.S. deficit nearly $1 trillion in first half of FY2009

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. budget deficit almost hit $1 trillion during the first six months of this fiscal year which began on October 1, according to estimates released on Monday by the Congressional Budget Office.

The government likely recorded $953 billion in red ink from October through March including $290 billion for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, which was to provide much-needed cash to struggling financial institutions, the CBO said.

Receipts during the six-month period dropped about $160 billion, or 14 percent, over the same period in fiscal 2008. Nearly half of the drop, $73 billion, came from a fall in corporate income tax receipts.

The CBO, the nonpartisan budget analyst for Congress, said the drop in corporate receipts was the largest in more than three decades.

In comparison, the federal deficit for the first six months of fiscal 2008 was $313 billion, roughly a third of the estimated current total.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Economy/idUSTRE5356X320090407