Deficit spending linked to jobless rate

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The nation's economy hit another unfortunate landmark, Monday. The government said, for the first time in history, the federal deficit reached a trillion dollars.

The news, apparently, is not surprising anyone.

CBS anchor Katie Couric was 15 minutes into Monday night's edition of the Evening News before she reported the trillion dollar truth.

Economist Bob Harris said it's a frightening amount of money. But, it had to be expected because the government is trying to cover lost income for the unemployed and lost spending for struggling businesses.

"No president today could avoid running massive deficits. A lot of it even is automatic because people aren't working so they're not paying taxes. That causes a deficit," said Harris.

Harris said anyone in charge of our government would be trying to get out of the recession and restore economic growth. Spending on new airport runways, for example, is one way to do it.

"Why not do it when people are out of work? Because then the real cost is lower. We're not taking people away from other jobs. We're taking them away from sitting at home collecting unemployment," said Harris.

Critics said the growing deficit raises new concerns about inflation.

Harris predicts that's not likely to be an issue for the next few years.

"We need to get some spending going and the federal government is in the only position to do that," said Harris.