EconAir

    Fiscal Policy   Some basic definitions:   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. Yearly deficits before the coronavirus were around $1 trillion per year. For fiscal year 2021, the deficit was $2.8 trillion. Total stimulus spending and tax cuts were around $4 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office’s latest projection is an average yearly deficit of $1.5 trillion for the next 10 years. This should be viewed as a minimum.   Social Security and Medicare are funded by their own taxes and working down their trust funds (selling government bonds). Subtracting Social Security and Medicare taxes from the Federal budget, other revenue covers about 50-60% of all other government spending; the other 40-50% is the deficit and financed by borrowing.   Debt .  Short for national debt.