As of January 2016
| US National Debt | $18,907,000,000,000 |
| US Tax Revenue | $3,311,000,000,000 |
| Federal Budget | $3,756,000,000,000 |
| Annual Deficit / Surplus | $445,000,000,000 |
| Net Interest on Debt | $231,000,000,000 |
The terms National Debt and Deficit are often used incorrectly; they are not the same…
What is the National Debt?
The National Debt is how much the Nation owes. On a personal level, this is similar to the total balance of all your credit cards and other personal debt.
What is the Deficit?
The Deficit is how much money we overspend the Federal Budget in the year beyond what is collected as revenue from taxpayers. This is basically how much the National Debt increases each year. A Surplus each year would actually reduce the National Debt. On a personal level, it is similar to how much more was spent than your budget allowed and increased your credit card balance by that amount.
Real World Example Using Family Budget
| Balance on Credit Cards | $0.00 |
| Annual Family Income | |
| Family Spending | $0.00 |
| New Spending on Credit Cards | $0.00 |
| Interest Paid on Credit Cards | $0.00 |
Trillions of dollars are difficult to envision. Enter your Annual Family Income in the chart and see what the results reveal…Staggering, isn’t it!
With all the tax money collected each year from taxpayers, what does the Nation spend the
money on?
Below is a pie chart of the breakdown of government spending:
What taxes make up the money collected (revenue) from taxpayers?
Below is a pie chart of the breakdown of the source of the tax revenue:
