Last year’s annual deficit surged to $1.42 trillion, more than three times the record of the previous year â€" an imbalance of $454.8 billion set in 2008.

The Obama administration is projecting that this year’s deficit will climb even higher, to $1.5 trillion, which would be 5.6 percent higher than the 2009 deficit. That figure will be revised when the president sends his new budget to Congress in early February.