Michael Tanner's Going For Broke

Murray, S. (2011). What the Government Debt Crisis Means to You. Retrieved from The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904800304576478621267758678.html?KEYWORDS=national+debt

This paper is about the last 15 years of the federal deficit and the national debt, as well as examination their relationship. This paper also looks at how the deficit is created and dealt with, along with what happens to different areas of the economy when the deficit’s size changes. Lastly this paper covers who owns the national debt, how these people are paid off, and the interest rate of the debt.

Our nation’s fiscal issues are on a common source of frustration among citizens, so well-known that it was almost anticlimactic when Standard & Poor downgraded our credit rating. This downgrading, which occurred in 2011, was a very symbolic blow to what is considered by most as the most powerful economic nation in the world. The credit rating company said that the nation’s debt has made the United States ability to manage its finances “less stable, less effective, and less predictable” (Washington Post). While many consider this downgrading a political critique of the political leaders of America, it is also a simple political conclusion. The AAA rating the

Most Americans find it ludicrous that the U.S. could collapse due to the economic default on its debt. America appears to be prosperous and everlasting, and is believed that is how it will remain. Soon, there won’t be enough money in the world to keep the living style of America. In John Hawkins article 5 Reasons America is in Decline, emphasizes the decline by stating “by 2020, it will take ’19 percent of the rest of the world’s GDP’ (gross domestic product), just to finance our debt and we’re likely still to be going further into the red at a rapid pace even then.” This process will cause America to have new enemies and more debt in the future.

Countries around the world are facing a dramatic recession, which is forcing them to spend capital they do not have. There are few sovereign states immune to the financial deficit that seems to even plague world super powers, such as The United States. This is unnerving due to the power and influence that the United States holds on the world stage. No matter how frugal the future budget may be and regardless of future financial success how will the United States overcome a deficit of 14.7 trillion dollars? Regarding this harsh reality there are two factions, one which believes the deficit is a necessary evil. The other believing that a deficit so large can be nothing but malignant to the contentment of the American common welfare. The

Many analysts state that “unless appropriate legislative action is taken, the national debt will become unsustainable, growing at a faster rate than the GDP and commanding a growing percentage of government revenues to pay the interest.” (Masters, 2012).

He begins with the question, “ARE you confused about whether large federal budget deficits matter?” Robert H. Frank uses his article to clarify to the audience that deficits can actually be utilized to help the economy if used in the right ways. It’s obviously expensive to run such a superpower like the United States of America and as a result, deficits and debts are encountered. In simple terms, a federal deficit is when the government is spending more or outlays more than it is taking in revenue and national debt is the result of the federal government borrowing money to cover all of the years of budget deficits. People, such as Harvard economist, Martin Feldstein, have argued that failure to run large deficits could prolong economic downturn; however, most who have studied the issue possess a general consensus that “short-run deficits help end recessions, and that whether long-run deficits matter depends entirely on how the government spends the borrowed money.”

America’s prosperity will always be at risk as long as we allow the kind of reckless spending that has added trillions to our national debt. Saddling future generations with more debt puts our nation’s security at risk. The first strategy to reducing our debt is getting more people to work at higher wages. The second strategy is sending conservative citizen leaders to Washington who will fight for budgets that are balanced.

The United States economy is an incredibly complicated entity that is intricately tied to the government. In a time where the national debt is equals almost twenty trillion dollars, it’s important to understand both how the American economy works and the economic policies surrounding it. One of the first things to be acquainted with when studying the American economy is the term public policy. Public policy is defined as a “system of laws, regulatory measures, courses of action, and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its representatives” (Norwhich University, 2016). Economic policy is one of the most discussed forms of public policy, and like the national debt, is shrouded in controversy. Contrary to some beliefs, the problem of the national debt is not unsolvable, but it will require time and planning to fix. This paper will attempt to explain concepts relating to the American economy such as public policy, national deficit, debt, as well theories the that could be used to remedy some of these issues.

This essay will provide a brief overview of theoretical views of the national debt, costs incurred as a result of a high national debt, and recommendations to eliminate the ever-expanding budget

“We the People” have begun to lose all personal financial endeavors, and furthermore being restrained to fiscal policies that are potentially devastating to America's future. Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, quoted regarding his bold disapproval of monetizing debt, “The Federal Reserve will not monetize the debt, either cuts in spending or increases in taxes will be necessary to stabilize the fiscal situation” (Hill 1). Monetizing debt is defined by the selling of national debt to primary buyers in the form of a Treasury bill or bond. In laymen's terms, primary buyers, both foreign and domestic, are purchasing bonds from our government to liquidate our national deficit. In a new age of federal policies,

The United States (US) has a rising national or government debt (Nanto, 2011, p. 4), which in 2010 for example stood at $13.6 trillion (The Heritage Foundation et al., 2010) and in mid-2015 stood at $18.153 trillion (National Priorities Project, 2016). Combined with its future forecast (i.e. at $22.4 trillion by the end of this year of 2016, Chantrill, 2016) the national debt is unsustainable and the US is confronted

Prospective politicians of the aspiring generation must recognize that budgeting changes must occur. A successful and conservative economic plan with increased revenue and lowered spending must be created to effectively address the expansive American debt. Among other possible solutions, the government must initiate a more effective tax plan. An increasing graduated tax would effectively provide for the additional revenue. A large percentage of the current debt arises from expansive military spending. Currently, the United States of America currently has a military budget more expensive than the next 34 countries’ budgets combined (Macias). Finally, America must properly invest in its technology and human capital to help its future and not for short-term gains. The American people must be made to understand the danger of a ruthless and wasteful American budget and it is the duty of the well informed to educate society on the impending

Debt and deficits are considered by some to be a major economic problem, indeed one that threatens the stability of the US economy with serious, possibly

The United States economy is currently in a time of expansion. This period of expansion has been in progress since the years following the “Great Recession” of the late 2000s. This expansion is evidenced by several factors including the real gross domestic product rising and continuing to rise toward the natural level of output. As the United States approaches a decade since the last recession, there are a number of signs that suggest this economic growth is not sustainable. The United States government is incurring large deficits each year, leading to a continually increasing debt level. While there have been times in U.S. history when debt and deficit levels have been high, the current debt level is not justified. There is no major