by Richard Mills
GoldSeek
People get confused about the difference between the deficit and the debt. The debt is the total amount of money the US government owes. It represents the accumulation of past deficits, minus any surpluses.
The current national debt stands at $36.8 trillion. How about the deficit?
The deficit is the annual difference between government spending and government revenue. Every year, the government takes in revenues in the form of taxes and other income, and spends money on various programs, such as national defense, Social Security, and healthcare. If the government spends more than it takes in, then it runs a deficit. If the government takes in more than it spends, it runs a surplus. — Peter G. Peterson Foundation
According to the Peterson Foundation, the US government has run a deficit in all but four years from 1970 to 1998 to 2001. The annual gap is projected to increase going forward, and that is an understatement.