federal deficit
National budget gap
A federal deficit is the shortfall when a national government spends more than it collects in revenue during a fiscal year.
The accumulated total of annual deficits becomes the national debt.
Politicians debate whether deficits stimulate economic growth or burden future generations: The federal deficit ballooned during the pandemic.
- tax cutsDecreased government assessments
- tax revenueGovernment's collected funds
- public expenditureGovernment's financial outlays
- government spendingState allocation of funds
- military spendingFunds for armed forces
taxpayer dollars · national debt · ticking time bomb · appropriations bill · treasury bonds · debt ceiling · fiscal cliff · austerity measures · healthcare costs · Social Security · red ink · sovereign debt · monetary policy · fiscal year · sequestration · economic downturns · entitlement programs · economic recession
- deficitsshortfall, overspending, borrowing, budget gap, funding gap
- public debtnational debt, sovereign debt, public debt, government bonds, treasury notes
federal deficitbudget surplus
Revenue exceeding outlays
surplus · government surplus · fiscal surplus · balanced budget · budget balance
federal deficitfiscal austerity
Reduced government expenditure policy
debt reduction · spending cuts · fiscal restraint · deficit reduction · balanced budget amendment
federal, deficit, federation, federate, federated, federalism, federalist, confederate, confederation