Debt will exceed size of economy in 2020 for first time since World War II

Going into the crisis, the United States was already on shaky ground fiscally, with the CBO projecting annual $1 trillion deficits as far as the eye could see given the long-term crisis facing entitlements as the ranks of retirees grow and healthcare costs rise.

But that was during a time when the economy was booming and unemployment was at a 50-year low. Now, the CBO expects GDP to drop 12% in the second quarter, the equivalent of 40% on an annualized basis. Unemployment is expected to average 14% over the course of the quarter.

Now, CBO expects the public debt to hit 101% of GDP by the end of the year. The only time in American history that debt has been higher was in the years 1945 and 1946, when it hit 104% and 106%, respectively, as a result of wartime spending.