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A comment on Show HN: Exploring the US Budget, 1962-2019.

Re:Show HN: Exploring the US Budget, 1962-2019 by wdr1 on Sunday September 14, 2014 @10:38PM (#8317017)
Beautiful visualization! I really like it.

Only semi-related, but something I've always wondered: Like a lot of other sources, this graph shows us running surplus in '98 & '99.

At the same time, the federal debt increased in those years:

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histd...

Can anyone explain why?

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Re:Show HN: Exploring the US Budget, 1962-2019 by joshuaheard on Monday September 15, 2014 @12:15AM (#8317245)
Without looking at the issue, I can say that the "deficit" and "surplus" are for the budget. Actual spending may differ, which may explain the rise of the debt.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Show HN: Exploring the US Budget, 1962-2019 by MaysonL on Monday September 15, 2014 @03:17AM (#8317626)
"Debt" includes the Treasury securities held by Social Security and Medicare trust funds, I believe.
[ Parent | on HN ]