by Jacob Goldstein

Just a quick update, courtesty of the Treasury Department: So far this fiscal year, the government has brought in $1.6 trillion in revenue, while spending  $2.6 trillion.

That's a big deficit by historical standards — but still lower than last year at this point, when the deficit was roughly $1.1 trillion. Compared to last year, spending has fallen a bit this year, and revenues have climbed, according to the CBO.

The fiscal year runs from October through September; we're on track for a deficit of roughly $1.3 trillion for the current fiscal year, the second-highest on record after last year's all-time high of $1.4 trillion, the AP notes.

That's as measured in absolute terms, by the way — when measured as a percent of GDP, deficits now are still far lower than they were during World War II — roughly 10 percent of GDP per year now, compared to 20 to 30 percent per year during World War II, according to this spreadsheet.