The Government budget balance, also commonly referred to as general government balance, public budget balance, or public fiscal balance, is the overall result of a country's general government budget over the course of an accounting period, usually one year. It includes all government levels (from national to local) and public social security funds. The budget balance is the difference between government revenues (e.g., tax) and spending. A positive balance is called a government budget surplus, and a negative balance is called a government budget deficit.
The government budget balance is used to assess the fiscal health of a country. It is further differentiated by closely related terms such as primary balance and structural balance (also known as cyclically-adjusted balance) of the general government. The primary budget balance equals the government budget balance before interest payments. The structural budget balances attempts to adjust for the impacts of the real GDP changes in the national economy. Keynesian economics advocates a government budget deficit during recession or downturn as long as it is limited enough to render the structural government budget balance positive.
Read more about Government Budget Balance: Primary Deficit, Total Deficit, and Debt, Structural Deficits, Cyclical Deficits, and The Fiscal Gap, Early Deficits, Deficit Spending
Famous quotes containing the words government, budget and/or balance:
“In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.”
—Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)
“We might come closer to balancing the Budget if all of us lived closer to the Commandments and the Golden Rule.”
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)
“As the House is designed to provide a reflection of the mood of the moment, the Senate is meant to reflect the continuity of the past—to preserve the delicate balance of justice between the majority’s whims and the minority’s rights.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)