The total outstanding borrowing of a country’s government (usually including national and local government). It is often described as a burden, although public debt may have economic benefits (see balanced budget, fiscal policy and golden rule). Certainly, debt incurred by one generation may become a heavy burden for later generations, especially if the money borrowed is not invested wisely. The national debt is a total of all the money ever raised by a government that has yet to be paid off; this is very different from an annual public-sector budget deficit. In 1999, the American government celebrated a huge budget surplus, yet the country still had a national debt equal to nearly half its GDP.