Fiscal Year

The fiscal year for the US government ends on 9/30. An interesting figure to watch is the total US debt (US Treasury debt to the penny).

I suspect that the aftermath of Katrina will push the US over $8 trillion in debt.

The reign of George the Second began with a debt of $5,674,178,209,886.86. The first several years of the run up in this debt could be attributed to actions taken by Bush's predecessor. A portion of it is due events such as 9/11, the tsunami and Katrina. Still, it looks like Bush can go down as the least fiscally conservative president in history.

The government needs to rush relief to the areas hit by Katrina. It will be close. My guess is that the US will tip $8 trillion this fiscal year (before 9/30). The debt was $7.932 trillion on 8/26. We need only a 0.857% increase to hit $8 trillion.