federal debt The total amount of money that is owed by the federal government. Related Related Articles: How to Pay For a $1.9 Trillion PackageWhy Federal Spending Is Tough to Predict for Entitlement ProgramsA Brief and Basic Primer On the Federal DebtDeciding if the Federal Government Should Borrow or TaxThe Countries With the Best and Worst Social Security Systems Ann Mills Share This Previous Articleeconomic growth Next Articlehorizontal integration December 17, 2020