ECON 2301- Writing Assignment
Malmi Senaweera
1).
2). According to the two graphs above, the federal budget deficit and the budget deficit as a percentage of GDP shows that the government has been running with deficits for the most part of last twenty years. The graph shows a budget surplus from 1998-2001, but from 2002 to present year it shows a budget deficit. The deficit has been the largest in 2009 due to the Great Recession and the graph shows significant improvements in the recent years.
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4). The U.S. national debt graph illustrated above shows the increase of the national debt over the last twenty years. There shows no significant change from 1996-2001. The debt rate has since gradually increased and after the Great Recession in 2009 it has been in an onward strike. The U.S. national debt as a percentage of GDP graph shows a downward trend from 1996-2001, but has increased gradually over time. Even though the graph shows a drop in 2015, it has risen by the next year.
5). When the government revenue is higher than government spending there is a surplus, but when government spending is higher than revenue it is called a deficit. That is how a budget deficit comes into existence. To deal with a budget deficit the administration can cut down on its expenditures and/or increase revenue generating activities like collecting more taxes. (class textbook)
6). When government spending and borrowing results in the increase of interest rates and reduces business
Overspending is a pertinent problem facing the lawmakers in Congress. In 2012 discretionary spending reached $1.3 trillion and mandatory spending $2 trillion, while only bringing in $2.5 trillion in revenue. Since the turn of the century back in 2000, non-mandatory spending by the government has topped out a whopping $16.1 trillion just in the past 13 years (Boccia, Frasser & Goff 2013). This persistent overspending on programs and services that are not necessary to the functionality of the country is what is causing the deficit to rise year after year. To remedy this issue the government must either increase the revenue it brings in through taxes and trade or reduce the amount of money it spend or perhaps even both. In 2012 thirty-one cents of every dollar that Washington spent was borrowed (Boccia, Frasser & Goff 2013). Most of which went to large programs such as Social Security and Medicare and if these large, growing programs, or just the budget in general, do not undergo financial reform it could spell disaster for the economy and fiscal state of the nation.
15. What are your thoughts of the importance of understanding the per patient day (PPD)
The U.S. government borrows large sums of money in times of national emergency, such as times of war. The U.S. entered many wars that greatly contributed to the national debt. The government also engaged in multiple social programs that increased the debt, such as the bailouts during the housing crisis in 2008-2009. To keep the economy from collapsing, the government borrowed enormous amounts of money. Half way through this housing crisis the deficit exceeded one trillion dollars. The deficit decreased to under $500 billion after the massive spending cuts deal in 2011.
In addition, the government spending is one of the components of aggregate demand, consequently, lower GDP. In a demand-deficient recession, consumption and investment tend to decrease due to lower income and revenue, the (X-M) component tends to level off or worsen in short run, which makes government spending an essential device to stimulate the economy. Therefore a decrease in the government spending will cause an even deeper recession and a larger budget deficit.
An economic downturn automatically paves way to a decline in taxation and an increase in government spending. This causes deficit. Nevertheless, if the government tries to reverse the situation by increasing tax rates, it would further result in a deflated economy leading to more unemployment and lower economic growth. A negative multiplier effect may give rise to an increase in deficit. Thus, deficit increases AD in a recession (Carbaugh, 2011).
Deficit spending refers to government spending that exceeds federal income and taxes over a period of time. The government can increase borrowing to obtain money from taxes or from foreign governments. The money that is borrowed is then put back into the economy through government spending. While deficit spending will increase government debt, it is believed to stimulate the economy to end a recession. Deficit spending has several advantages and disadvantages to government borrowing.
The historical federal spending of the government has already done significant damage to America; spending habits have increased the federal budget deficit at alarming rates adding $2.7 trillion to the national debt in two years, $1.4 trillion in the 2009 fiscal year and $1.3 trillion in 2010. (Montgomery) These deficits are largely caused by increases in spending rates. The current Obama Administration has used the recession in their favor to expand both the government and spending.
The total U.S. budget deficit for this year is estimated to be $514 billion, compared to $1.4 trillion in 2009 (The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2014 to 2024, 2014). Over the last few years, the federal budget deficit has declined, and is projected to continue to decline this year and leading into 2015 (The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2014 to 2024, 2014).
The government needs to take more caution creating the federal budget. Edwards stated that “Consider Canada's experience. In the mid-1990s, the federal government faced a debt crisis caused by overspending, which is similar to America's current situation. But the Canadian government reversed course and slashed spending from 23 percent of GDP in 1993, to 17 percent by 2000, to just 15 percent today. The Canadian economy did not sink into a recession from the cuts as Keynesians would have expected but instead grew strongly during the 1990s and 2000s."
The federal budget is known as the notorious economic tank from which money is distributed to various programs. The money used every fiscal year, which begins October 1st and ends September 30th the next year, belongs to the people. The government raises this money through taxes and they spend it on national defense, Medicare, and social security. The federal budget is an exercise in making choices, and those options will certainly affect individuals living in the U.S. These choices cause debt to pile up on the government, who is struggling to make it disappear. The deficit and debt of a government gauges how well it is being run and how well it has been run in the past. According to The Economist the national debt is the total
The United States has seen a growth in the deficit beginning in 1991. The deficit equated to 3.6% of the GDP in 1999 and rose to 4.4% during 2000. “For instance,
Treasury sailing IOUs towards the government in the form of securities, which are called bonds. When this occurs the effect goes by when the federal government asks U.S. and foreign households, business, and governments to lend them money that will cover the deficit they have created. Covering the deficit, but also has indebtedness to bondholders as well. They should be concerned with “crowding out,” just because the mechanism by which investment is crowded out is an increase in the interest rate. By more sales of securities, this would cause them to raise the interest rates on the bonds to even have anybody wanting to buy them. These higher interest rates on bonds are going to discourage private sectors investment and spending and these high rates causes a reduction in the growth in capital formation, which in turn slows the growth of productivity and improvement in society’s living standard. Increasing the level of spending by the present generation crowds out investments and reduces the growth of capital goods, leaving those in the future generations with a smaller capital stock leaving them not to be as wealthy as they wanted to be before because this affect.
To really understand deficit spending think about it in simpler terms, like, the budgeting of your check book. If you have $100.00 but want to spend $200.00 you will need to make the decision: do you not make the purchase or do you borrow the money by maybe using credit? A consideration to remember is how borrowing that money will have an effect on your overall budget. Not only will you have the initial $100.00 difference to repay but also the interest that goes along with repaying that money. Deficit spending is when a nation 's government needs to spend in excess of its overall revenue and instead of raising taxes it borrows the funds needed. This can lead to many advantages and disadvantages for the country 's economy and is a concern that can lead to debates on whether deficit spending is the correct course of action for a nation 's budget or raising taxes.
A state of financial health in which spending exceed revenue. The term "budget deficit" is most generally used to refer to government expenditure rather than business or individual expenditure. When referring to accrued federal government deficits, the term "national debt” is used. The reverse of a budget deficit is a budget surplus, and when money in equal money out, the budget is said to be balanced.
Deficit spending is when purchases exceed income. It is usually attributed to government spending within an economy. Although it can happen to both individual and business, when government spends more and not able to balance the budget, we say it is deficit spending. Deficit spending is created each fiscal year by congress and government because the spending by government causes the growth of the economy. For example, in the United State deficit spending is mainly caused by social, security, and medical cost. Government spends most of its revenue in each fiscal year into this payment. According to Kimberly Amadeo(2017) he said “ most people don’t realize that wars create more deficit spending than the create recession. The war in Afghanistan cost $28.7 billion in 2001.The war in Iraq for deployed military costs $72.5 billion by 2003. In 2008, the total cost grew to $186.6 billion.