GOVERNMENT: Red Ink Record

The U.S. went $2,614,986,764 in the red in the first three months of the current fiscal year (which began on July 1). This is the biggest peacetime quarterly deficit in U.S. history. But because of lagging defense spending and increasing tax receipts, the deficit is still $1 billion less than the Administration estimated last July. For the whole fiscal year the Administration last week estimated a $7 billion to $8 billion deficit, even with the heavy new taxes called for in bills pending in Congress.