U.S. Deficit is Back to Civil War Levels

Here is a powerful one to take you into the weekend:

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With the exception of the Civil War, WW1 and WW2, the US has historically been around the 0% mark, give or take a couple of percentage points. We are now approaching Civil War levels in terms of our deficit as a percent of GDP.

Sources:

Surplus/Deficit as a % of GNP/GDP (Barry Ritholtz via Bianco Research)

Chart Of The Day (BusinessInsider - MoneyGame)