CNBC: U.S. Deficit Tops Half a Trillion Dollars in the First Quarter of Fiscal Year
Article by Jeff Cox in CNBC
The U.S. government ran up another half a trillion dollars in red ink in the first quarter of its fiscal year, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.
For the period from October 2023 through December 2023, the budget deficit totaled just shy of $510 billion, following a shortfall of $129.4 billion in just December alone, which was 52% higher than a year ago. The jump in the deficit pushed total government debt past $34 trillion for the first time.
Compared to last year, which saw a final deficit of $1.7 trillion, 2024 is running even hotter.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2023, for example, the difference between ....