federal debt
Government's cumulative loans
Federal debt is money owed by a national government, accumulated through borrowing to cover budget shortfalls.
In the United States, the federal debt includes Treasury bonds, bills, and notes held by individuals, institutions, and foreign governments.
The national debt and federal debt are often used interchangeably.
Debates over the federal debt typically concern sustainable spending levels and obligations to future generations.
- budget deficitSpending exceeding revenue
- treasury bondsGovernment-issued debt securities
- government bondsState-issued debt securities
- credit riskPotential for borrower nonpayment
- credit ratingAssigned measure of borrower reliability
national budget · treasury notes · government securities · fiscal policy · tax revenue · future generations · monetary policy · national economy · government borrowing · borrowing costs · bond yields · public accounts · deficit financing · inflation · currency devaluation · interest rates · bondholders · economic growth
- debtscar loan, student loan, loans, bank loan, personal loan
- public debtgovernment bonds, treasury notes, treasury bonds, treasury securities, government borrowing
- public financebudget deficit, tax revenue, budgets, expenditure, public spending
federal debtbudget surplus
Revenue exceeding outlays
federal reserves · fiscal surplus · trade surplus · budget balance · balanced budget
federal, debt, federate, federated, federation, federalism, federalist, federalize, federalization