CNBC: Barack Obama on the Auto Industry

[Lamar]

The deficit didn't change much when clinton was in office, he still left office with between $4 and $5 trillion deficit.

Let's stop there and sort this out...

National debt != budget deficit.

When we say "deficit," it has to do with the yearly federal budget. If expenses > revenues, then we have a budget deficit. The opposite would be a surplus.

However, accumulated deficits do become debt, so it's not too far off.

[siegen]

Let's stop there and sort this out...

National debt != budget deficit.

When we say "deficit," it has to do with the yearly federal budget. If expenses > revenues, then we have a budget deficit. The opposite would be a surplus.

However, accumulated deficits do become debt, so it's not too far off.

That's something that a lot of people tend to get confused. Our national debt is a running debt from every year's budget deficit. The last time our debt was paid off or very close to be paid off was 1835, lol.

Here's an interesting article from 1999 that's definitely worth a read. Back then we had yearly budget surpluses and the democrats had the idea that we could pay off our national debt if we kept a yearly budget surplus for the next 10 years and used it to pay down the debt. Congress even made this nifty projection:

Hmmm.... somewhere along the lines things didn't go as planned.

[regfootball]

that will be the death of our country.