[jriley1349]

What caused it? Short answer: Legacy debt and economy crash (Bailouts and Loss of Revenue)

Below is a story done on March 26 on CNBC titled: Decoding the Deficit It indicates:

"What caused it? According to the CBO, 57 percent of the increase was caused by the decline in revenues, of which a vast majority resulted from the agency’s outlook for the economy.

Specifically, Social Security accounts for a huge part of the revenue change. According to the network's analysis, Social Security was expected to show a $2.3 trillion surplus over the 10-year period from 2009-2018.

However, new figures show that if a surplus for the agency will exist at all, it is projected to be just over $1 trillion.

Adding to the deterioration is a range of expenses and methodology, including the stimulus bill, a change in accounting for the war, extended unemployment benefits and additional interest on debt."

Story link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?play=1&video=1451829272

Notice that one of the factors indicates "change in accounting for the war" which means, the costs of the Iraq and Afghan wars are now accounted for - unlike during the Bush years when they were simply ignored from budgets.

See the video here: