By December, the cumulative deficit was still bigger than it had been in December 2003.

ECONOMIST: But there is still reason to worry about future years

Despite a tripling of the monetary base since 2008 and cumulative deficit spending of 36% of GDP, America has experienced below trend economic growth and stubborn unemployment in the current recovery.

ECONOMIST: Letters: On fracking, robots, gun laws, the music industry, education, Milton Friedman, plurals, academic publishing, Kim Jong Un's wife | The