The federal deficit is on track to hit $1 trillion in 3 years

The federal government's annual deficit will reach $897 billion this fiscal year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected in a new report Monday, and will hit $1 trillion by 2022.

The $1 trillion milestone was previously projected for 2020 but was adjusted significantly because of a decrease in emergency spending on disaster relief in the aftermath of hurricanes and similar catastrophes. (The deficit has topped $1 trillion four times before, in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.)

That adjustment does not indicate a substantial change in the underlying fiscal conditions which produce such enormous unfunded expenditures. On the contrary, the average projected deficit for 2020 through 2029 will amount to 4.4 percent of GDP, up from an average of 2.9 percent of GDP from 1969 to 2018.

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Total federal debt held by the public is also projected to spike, the CBO reports. It will reach 93 percent of GDP by 2029 and 150 percent of GDP by 2049 if present spending trends and commitments continue.