deficit spending

noun

Definition of deficit spending

: the spending of public funds raised by borrowing rather than by taxation

Examples of deficit spending in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead, as budgets increasingly roll into deficit spending, policymakers can promote large defense budgets and wage perpetual war without raising taxes or demanding financial sacrifices. — Rebecca U. Thorpe, The Conversation, "One budget line Congress can agree on: Spending billions on the US military," 14 Aug. 2019 The district’s governing board should act immediately to balance the budget, respond to declining enrollment trends and reduce the forecasted deficit spending. — Deborah Sullivan Brennan, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Oceanside schools face fiscal crisis," 26 July 2019 Such complaints at least serve to check runaway deficit spending. — Jonah Goldberg, National Review, "Unity Can Be Worse than Partisanship," 26 July 2019 Republicans pretended great concern about the deficit, then two years ago passed a budget-busting tax cut, and now enable yet more deficit spending. — The Washington Post, Twin Cities, "Other voices: The fate of the Cadillac tax should be a wake-up call," 28 July 2019 Glendale Unified has been deficit spending for two years, despite cuts of $3.6 million from last school year’s budget and $5 million for next year. — Andrew J. Campa, latimes.com, "More budget cuts may be looming at Glendale Unified," 21 June 2019 In the first year of its five-year run, school leaders recruited fewer than 80 students, throwing CPA into deficit spending from the get-go. — Los Angeles Times, "Law enforcement seizes records of closed L.A. charter school," 17 July 2019 President Trump is fueling growth with massive deficit spending to get him through reelection and people like the letter-writer seem to fall for this con. — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, "Letter: Under Trump the economy isn’t soaring — the deficit is," 16 July 2019 Candidate instructions must emphasize less government, elimination of deficit spending and reduction of national debt. — Dp Opinion, The Denver Post, "Letters: Incentives Gaylord could receive unknown; TABOR continues to be a hot topic (7/14/19)," 14 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deficit spending.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about deficit spending

Dictionary Entries near deficit spending

Statistics for deficit spending

Last Updated

20 Aug 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for deficit spending

The first known use of deficit spending was in 1938

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for deficit spending

deficit spending

noun

Financial Definition of deficit spending

What It Is

Deficit spending is spending that reduces or offsets a surplus. In the business world, the term often refers to situations where expenses exceed revenues, imports exceed exports or liabilities exceed assets.

How It Works

Deficit spending creates fiscal deficits and trade deficits.

Fiscal deficits occur when a government's expenditures exceed its revenue. A government usually borrows money (by issuing Treasury securities or similar instruments) to fill the gap or "fund the deficit."

Trade deficits (also called current account deficits) occur when a country imports more than it exports.

Why It Matters

Deficit spending is controversial. The famous economist John Maynard Keynes argued that it stimulated economies by giving governments the money to purchase goods and services and were thus particularly useful for getting countries out of recessions. However, many scholars also argue that governments should not engage in deficit spending regularly because the mountain of debt they create makes for unsustainable economies in the long run.

Source: Investing Answers