Now, how do you get money in Sim City 2000 (SNES)?

I just kept getting loans from the government. But there has to be a way to generate income on your own.... right?

Yea you build up your city.
Start with residential zones, add some commerce sections, then put in industrial.
In the early stages residential and industrial will be your bread and butter.

Edit: Don't forget to put in essential services (power, water, health, police, education ect.)

Edit 2: Set your taxes at a reasonable level to get cash flow and maintain reasonable growth.

The RCIs... Do I balance them out? I never really fiddled with taxes. How would I know if it is a reasonable change?

I usually set them like so 7,6,7 (R/C/I).
The reason I leave commercial lower is to get some decent growth out of it. For some reason the commercial section doesn't like to grow.
Keep demand constant so you have consistent growth.

Just build up an INSANELY massive industrial complex with enough residential to satisfy the workers demand also accept every other citys trash.

You'll be rolling in the cash money buoy, Trust me!! :P

Indeed IMO commerce is the way to go though.
Industrial is easy money but commerce pulls more money per capita.

Is cash flow supposed to be yearly or monthly? How do I know if I am raking in cash? Every year I just LOSE money.

That damn budget screen is Chinese to me... Can anyone explain?

Are the bars on the bottom right part of the screen supposed to go up or down?

This link will answer all of your questions.