Summary

Explanation

• Source data for on & off budget data is: http://www.fms.treas.gov/mts/mts0908.pdf archive copy at the Wayback Machine
• Reported debt change data is calculated from: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo5.htm archive copy at the Wayback Machine

This chart shows how the reported budget deficit often quoted in the press is increasingly not reflective of government spending in excess of tax receipts, which is indicated by debt increases. There are two primary categories of differences:

• "Off-budget" amounts: There are certain categories of receipts and disbursements which are included in the budget process, but are (counter-intuitively) called "off-budget." The primary item is Social Security. During 2007, the "Off-budget" surplus was $183 billion, which lowered the "On-budget" deficit of $638 billion to the "Total Deficit" of $455 billion. This total deficit figure is the amount often reported in the press.
• Supplemental appropriations: These amounts are authorized for payment via legislation outside the annual budget process. Examples are the costs of the Iraq & Afghanistan Wars (about $750 billion total since 2001), the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (about $170 billion), and earmarks (about $20-$50 billion per year).

Since the debt went up about $1017 billion during 2008, that means $379 billion (1017-638=379) were non-budgeted expenses or outside the annual budget process.

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• 2009-10-18 16:13 Farcaster 960×720× (7486 bytes) Add a bit of color
• 2008-10-15 03:36 Farcaster 960×720× (7400 bytes) {{Information |Description=Comparison of Deficit to Change in Debt 2008 |Source=I created this work entirely by myself. |Date=14 October 2008 |Author=~~~~ |other_versions= }}
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