“The federal government ran a budget deficit of $589 billion for the first 11 months of fiscal year 2014, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates—$166 billion less than the shortfall recorded over the same period last year. Through the end of August, revenues were about 8 percent higher and outlays were about 1 percent higher than they were at the same point last year. In CBO’s most recent budget projections, the agency estimated that the deficit for fiscal year 2014 (which will end on September 30, 2014) will total $506 billion, about $170 billion less than last year’s deficit. (See An Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2014 to 2024, which CBO published in August.)”