AP U.S. Government and Politics Glossary

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High Five AP Government & Politics Exam Review Updated for 2025
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Deficit

A deficit occurs when the federal government’s spending exceeds its revenues. The federal government has spent $624 billion more than it has collected in fiscal year (FY) 2025, resulting in a national deficit. When you write out six hundred twenty four billion bucks it looks like this: $624,213,407,560.00 Wow! That’s a lot of money. A budget deficit occurs when money going out (spending) exceeds money coming in (revenue ) during a defined period. In FY 2024, the federal government spent $6.75 trillion and collected $4.92 trillion in revenue, resulting in a deficit. The amount by which spending exceeds revenue, $1.83 trillion in 2024, is referred to as deficit spending. The opposite of a budget deficit is a budget surplus, which occurs when the federal government collects more money than it spends. The U.S. has experienced a fiscal year-end budget surplus four times in the last 50 years, most recently in 2001. When there is no deficit or surplus due to spending and revenue being equal, the budget is considered balanced.

 
 

Questions

  1. Translate deficit into plain English.

  2. Is the United States government currently running a budget deficit?

  3. When was the last time the U.S. did not have a budget deficit?

  4. Identify one political advantage of running a budget deficit.

  5. Identify one political disadvantage of running a budget deficit.

  6. What is the difference between deficit and debt?

  7. What would be one way for a government to stop running a deficit?

  8. How do governments convince people to lend them money to pay for their deficit spending?

Remember!

Now, let’s commit this term to our long-term memory. On a scrap piece of paper, take 10 or 20 seconds to draw deficit! Draw with symbols or stick figures if you wish. Nothing fancy. Don’t expect a masterpiece. No one else will see this but you. Look at your drawing. That’s all - now it’s downloaded into your memory. Destroy the piece of paper in a most delightful way.

Further Review

High Five AP Government & Politics Exam Review Updated for 2025
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2024 AP US Government Exam