The current account deficit is equal to about 5 percent of the total American economy.

Among the problems are that government revenues as a share of the total economy remain relatively low.

The deficit that year was 6 percent of the total economy.

And because it's been doing that for a while, it's up to about 15 percent of the total economy.

It accounts for 40 percent of South America's total economy.

It limits budget deficits to no more than 3% of a country's total economy.

It is estimated to account for 30 percent of the total economy.

The $10 billion American aid budget is the lowest among rich nations as a percentage of the total economy.

Yet in terms of the aggregate effect on the total economy, that statistic does not seem to matter much.

Government spending is now the highest it has been since 1997, when expressed as a percentage of the total economy.