National Debt Defined as Government Borrowing

Steps:

• Recall that national debt refers to the total amount a government owes from borrowing to cover deficits.
• Evaluate option A: It directly matches the definition of accumulated borrowing over time.
• Check option B: This describes the budget deficit, not the cumulative debt.
• Eliminate C and D: These relate to interest or private obligations, not public debt.

Why A is correct:

• National debt is defined as the sum of all past government borrowings to finance expenditures exceeding revenues, per standard economic definitions like those from the U.S. Treasury.

Why the others are wrong:

• B: This is the annual budget deficit, which adds to debt but is not the total equivalent.
• C: This is just the cost of servicing the debt, not the principal owed.
• D: This confuses public debt with private household debt, which are separate.

Final answer: A