What is national debt?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

National debt is the accumulated sum of past government budget deficits and surpluses; in other words, it is the total outstanding amount the government owes at a point in time.

1) Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- A budget deficit is when government spending in a single period (usually a year) exceeds its revenue in that same period. A budget surplus is the opposite.
- National debt is the running total (accumulation) of those yearly deficits and surpluses over time.
- Borrowing in any given year to cover a deficit increases the national debt; repaying principal or running surpluses reduces it.

2) Step‑by‑step reasoning
- Start with an initial national debt (could be zero or an existing amount).
- Each year, compute that year’s budget balance: revenue − spending = surplus (positive) or deficit (negative).
- Add the yearly deficit (a positive amount of borrowing) to the prior stock of debt; subtract any surplus used to pay down debt.
- Repeat over successive years — the stock of national debt equals the sum of all past deficits minus past surpluses.

3) Example with intermediate steps
- Year 1: deficit = $10 billion → debt becomes $10 billion.
- Year 2: deficit = $15 billion → cumulative debt = $10 + $15 = $25 billion.
- Year 3: surplus = $5 billion → cumulative debt = $25 − $5 = $20 billion.
This demonstrates accumulation and reduction over time.

4) Why the correct answer is correct
- Option d states “The accumulated total of budget deficits over time,” which exactly matches the definition: the national debt is the cumulative stock resulting from yearly budget outcomes.

5) Why the other options are incorrect
- a describes money owed to the government by individuals (unrelated to national debt).
- b describes borrowing in one particular year (that’s a deficit in that year, not the accumulated stock).
- c describes a budget deficit (a flow over a period), not the accumulated national debt (a stock).

6) Conclusion
Therefore, the correct choice is d. The national debt is the accumulated total of budget deficits over time.

What is national debt?单项选择题

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