[simon says what]

And if expenditures exceed revenues, and we're in debt, won't that just make us more in debt by that amount?

No... this is another way the government keeps from us the true size of their spending. The deficit number refers to on-budget items. Certain off-budget items such as Social Security are not incorporated into this number. We have been running a surplus for Social Security for decades. The government throws this money into the general revenues and issues debt against it. This lowers the actual deficit but increases the debt. Our government's accounting would be considered criminal if used by any corporation or individual.

Good description here: What is the difference between the debt and the deficit?

[inquest]

Well, I understand that there are two "debts" that get talked about. There's the "publicly held" portion and the portion that's based on trust funds such as Social Security (and then of course there's the total of the two). The first is the one that gets quoted all the time, and that's the one whose changes are defined by (what gets reported as) the deficit.

Do I have that right?

[Huck]

ouch.