The public debt is the: A.) Amount of U. S. paper currency in circulation B.) Ratio of all past deficits to all past surpluses C.) Accumulation of all past deficits minus all past surpluses D.) The difference between current government expenditures and current tax revenues

The public debt is what the government owns to its people or other governments. It's created when the government spends more than it makes so when the expenditures are bigger than the revenues. It's accumulated over the years, so the correct answer is: C.) Accumulation of all past deficits minus all past surpluses