Even as more economic focus is placed on roaring inflation, a familiar, but just as destructive, story on federal spending and debt continues to play in the background:

The federal government ran a $191 billion deficit during November, a bigger gap when compared with a year earlier, as additional revenue from payroll taxes and other receipts was more than offset by increased spending.

Federal outlays in November rose 30% to $473 billion, the Treasury Department reported Friday. Some federal government agencies, such as the Education Department and Health and Human Services, spent more last month compared with the same period last year in part because of pandemic-related programs, a senior Treasury official said. The Treasury Department’s spending so far in the fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, is up compared with last year in part because of its administration of the expanded child tax credit.

The Treasury said government receipts for the month rose by 28% from a year earlier to $281 billion, not adjusting for calendar differences. That increase was driven mostly by higher government revenue from payroll taxes. The official said the department is seeing higher revenue from payroll taxes due to the recovery in the U.S. economy.

In November of the previous fiscal year, the government ran a deficit of $145 billion.

Same story, different day. And as always, neither major political has a plan – never mind the courage – to stop the fiscal madness.

As we’ve written many times, the nation’s spending binge will have to end…and it will do so in tears.