Treasury: deficit hits new record

WASHINGTON (AP) - January 13, 2009 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.