Federal Budget Deficit is the difference in any year between the government revenue and the government spending. The national debt is the cumulative unpaid total of the annual deficit. The government essentially always runs a deficit, in large part due to Medicare expanding far beyond CBO expectations.
- Modern accounting requires that corporations, state governments and local governments count expenses immediately when a transaction occurs, even if the payment will be made later. The federal government does not follow the rule, so promises for Social Security and Medicare don't show up when the government reports its financial condition. Bottom line: Taxpayers are now on the hook for a record $59.1 trillion in liabilities, a 2.3% increase from 2006. That amount is equal to $516,348 for every U.S. household. By comparison, U.S. households owe an average of $112,043 for mortgages, car loans, credit cards and all other debt combined. Unfunded promises made for Medicare, Social Security and federal retirement programs account for 85% of taxpayer liabilities. State and local government retirement plans account for much of the rest.
Liberal spending and incredible increase in deficit
In 2008, the deficit was $248 billion. However, during former President George W. Bush's final year in office, when he adopted a significantly more liberal policy than in his previous year, the deficit skyrocketed to $1.4 trillion. Current President Barack Obama has done little to fix this, having deficits remaining in the trillions [2]