US federal budget deficit goes above $1 trillion for the third consecutive year

While the US economy allegedly improves as the government takes in more tax revenue, the US budget doesn’t seem to be in a healthy state as the deficit is expected to exceed $1 trillion for a third straight year.

For April the federal budget deficit declined to $40.5 billion, half the imbalance from the same month last year, the Treasury Department said Wednesday. While tax receipts increased 45% last month compared to the same period last year ago, the deficit is on pace to grow to $1.4 trillion in this budget year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That would be greater than last year's $1.29 trillion deficit and nearly match the record $1.41 trillion deficit hit in 2009.

Through the first seven months of the budget year, the deficit has totaled $869.9 billion — a figure that just three years ago would have ranked as the highest ever for a full year.

In view of ever increasing deficit Congress and President Barack Obama are under pressure to agree on a long-term plan to trim federal spending.

Through April, government revenues totaled $1.31 trillion, up 9.2 percent from the seven months through April of 2010.

Government spending totaled $2.18 trillion through April, a 9 percent increase over the same period a year ago. One of the fastest-rising categories was interest on the government's debt held by the public, which rose 13.1 percent to $139.3 billion through the first seven months of this budget year.