2009 is shaping up to be one record-breaker of a year. Not the good kind, mind you (see Most Tennis Balls Held in Mouth by a dog), but more of a depressing, wake-up-and-smell-the-prolonged-recession kind of record.

According to a report released Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office, the federal budget deficit is estimated to reach $1.2 trillion in 2009. That figure more than doubles the previous record of $455 billion, set last year. And no, I'm pretty sure no one will be receiving any congratulatory medals.

That figure however, doesn't cover everything. Those deficit predications for 2009 do not include Obama's plan for a $775 billion stimulus package that would raise the country's deficit to more than $1.6 trillion if passed. For those of you who don't think in terms of dollars, or if your brain starts to convulse at the thought of high numbers, the 2009 deficit amounts to 8.3% of the United State's gross domestic product—the largest percentage since the end of WWII.

Yup, those are some pretty astounding statistics. My natural reaction is usually to panic, but instead, I feel a strange calm settling over me as I write this. No panic. Only passive acceptance. Maybe this is what they call the eye of the storm.

--Erin

The photo is taken from this photostream and used with permission of a Creative Commons license.

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