EconAir

  PRELIMINARY SUMMARY OF FISCAL 2024 BUDGET The deficit in fiscal 2024 will be around $1.9 trillion, about $4.9 trillion in revenue and $6.8 trillion in expenses. Interest on the national debt this year is around $960 billion, over twice the interest on the fiscal 2021 budget. Interest expense this year passed outlays for the military. Leaving aside Social Security and Medicare, interest expense is about 20% of total budget outlays. Interest expense is about half the budget deficit.    SOME BASIC DEFINITIONS AND A LITTLE DETAIL Some basic definitions for people in government suffering from political amnesia:   Deficit.    The difference between the federal government’s spending and its revenue in one fiscal year.  The fiscal year starts on October 1.  So fiscal year 2024 started on October 1, 2023. You know right away this is going to be confusing. Debt .  Short for national debt or federal debt .  The sum total of all past yearly deficits minus yearly surpluses. Commentators o