National debt of the United States: Difference between revisions

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{{U.S. deficit and debt topics|expanded=dimensions}}

 

The '''national debt of the United States''' is the total [[government debt|national debt]] owed by the [[federal government of the United States|federal government]] of the [[United States]] to [[United States Treasury security|Treasury security]] holders. The national debt at any point in time is the [[face value]] of the then-outstanding Treasury securities that have been issued by the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Treasury]] and other [[List of federal agencies in the United States|federal agencies]]. The terms "national deficit" and "national surplus" usually refer to the federal [[government budget balance]] from year to year, not the cumulative amount of [[debt]]. In a deficit year the national debt increases as the government needs to borrow funds to [[Deficit spending|finance the deficit]], while in a surplus year the debt decreases as more money is received than spent, enabling the government to [[Deficit reduction in the United States|reduce the debt]] by buying back some Treasury securities. In general, government debt increases as a result of [[Government spending in the United States|government spending]] and decreases from [[Taxation in the United States|tax]] or other receipts, both of which fluctuate during the course of a [[fiscal year]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Historical Tables – Table 1.2 – Summary of Receipts, Outlays, and Surpluses or Deficits (-) as Percentages of GDP: 1930–2017|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/hist.pdf|access-date=April 16, 2012|publisher=[[Office of Management and Budget]]|df=mdy-all}}</ref> There are two components of gross national debt:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/longterm/debt/debtbasics.html#largefeddebt|title=Federal debt basics – How large is the federal debt?|publisher=[[Government Accountability Office]]|access-date=April 28, 2012|archive-date=July 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706055255/http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/longterm/debt/debtbasics.html#largefeddebt|url-status=dead}}</ref>