Question:
Dear Government George, where is the money spent that is borrowed from the public and who decides where it goes?
Answer:
The Bureau of Public Debt is responsible for accounting for and reporting the debt in accordance with statutory direction. The Bureau does not have any public policy decision-making authority. Visit the Financial Management Service web site for more information. Information about the “Budget of theUnited States” is available at the Government Printing Office web site. The deficit is the fiscal year difference between what the United States Government (Government) takes in from taxes and other revenues, called receipts, and the amount of money the Government spends, called outlays. The items included in the deficit are considered either on-budget or off-budget. You can think of the total debt as accumulated deficits plus accumulated off-budget surpluses. The on-budget deficits require the U.S. Treasury to borrow money to raise cash needed to keep the Government operating. We borrow the money by selling securities like Treasury bills, notes, bonds and savings bonds to the public. The Treasury securities issued to the public and to the Government Trust Funds (Intragovernmental Holdings) then become part of the total debt. For information about the deficit,