The Federal Budget Deficit Is

The federal budget deficit is

A) the total of what government owes to individuals and institutions.
B) the annual shortfall between what the government spends and what it takes in.
C) the rate of interest that government must pay on short-term financial obligations.
D) the measure of efficiency and fairness that is built into the tax code.
E) the annual difference between payments and receipts between a country and its trading partners.