MARTIN CRUTSINGER
WASHINGTON
The Treasury Department says the federal government already has run up a record deficit of $485.2 billion in just the first three months of the current budget year.
The deficit is on track to surpass $1 trillion for all of fiscal 2009 and some economists believe it could go much higher.
The Treasury says the deficit for December totaled $83.6 billion, a sharp deterioration from a year ago when the government managed a surplus of $48.3 billion.
All the red ink is occurring because of the massive spending on the $700 billion financial rescue program and a prolonged recession which has depressed tax revenues.
