What is the national deficit?

A deficit is caused when the amount of revenue taken in by a government is less than it spends on its programs. The difference becomes a debt in the form of loans against future revenue, usually promissory notes and bonds. When a city or state is in deficit, it usually requires curtailing public services or reducing public employment. However, the national government is less restricted in its spending because a deficit is covered by borrowing (Treasury Bills and bonds are normally used to finance interim spending anyway). The total of these loans is called the National Debt, and most of it is actually owed to investors in the US. When the US imports more than it exports, the difference is called the "balance of payments" deficit, which is potentially more important because it represents debts to foreign countries (e.g. China). *The US, as with most nations, has the ability to "create" money in the form of currency, and can regulate its debt through control of the money supply. This is usually not a permanent solution because it can decrease the value of the dollar.