National Debt In The United States

The growing national deficit is a looming problem in the United States now more than ever. The national debt is constantly increasing and government spending is out of control. If these issues are not solved then they could spell disaster for the nation’s economy when the infamous debt ceiling is finally reached. Currently the national policy on the debt is to continue raising the debt limit until a solution is found that is agreeable between both parties in Congress. The two main issues of over spending and the constant raising of the debts ceiling by Congress can both be resolved by government spending reform, balancing the federal budget and initiating pro-growth policies in order to increase the government’s tax revenue.

This growth in national debt has blunt consequences on inflation, interest rates and growing economy. Foreign control of large amounts of government debt means that the taxes will have to be raised to repay debt and percentage owned to overseas governments which is not acceptable. Assuming that trade deficiency also exists it will lead to depreciation of dollar which effect its position as a reserve currency, and if during this process any new currency emerge as a replacement of reserve currency, higher interest rates will be required to sell the debt to foreign countries (Inflation). Raised interest rates have a negative impact on the economy and high accumulation of debts leads to high interest rates (Spending). Hence the economy suffers. This means that the funds for government programs like Social Security and Medicare are not enough (Economic Progress Under Obama). Another consequence of high national debt is the reduced flexibility in fiscal policy (Spending).

From the moment they become old enough to be aware that money is limited, young people today are taught to avoid getting into debt. Horror stories of payment defaults, exorbitant interest rates, and ruined credit are passed from generation to generation, and along with it, sentiments of disgust and panic toward the large and seemingly never-decreasing number that is the national debt of the United States of America. Yet, it cannot be said that all debt is bad; student loans taken as an investment in the future, or a mortgage on a house -- there are plenty of examples of how deficit spending can be a valuable practice, and the first Secretary of the Treasury was a strong proponent of that view when it came to government spending.

Since the nation’s very beginning, it has carried a debt from the American Revolution. Only once in the entire U.S. history has been the debt zero, during President Andrew Jackson’s administration in the 1830’s. President Jackson set a budget like the other future and past presidents, but actually stayed within its parameters. However, the debt kept growing after his presidency and reached $18 trillion dollars today. The world has changed a lot since the 1830’s, the methods used during that period can no longer be the solution in 2015 because there are just too many factors that must be considered. The size and the population of the country have changed dramatically, foreign relationships are far more complicated and broader, and people’s expectations of the government are different.

Many Americans today are aware that the United States is in debt, however, some may not realize by how much. Currently, the United States National Debt is up to 18 trillion dollars and is steadily increasing. This is a serious problem for the U.S., especially for millennials, who are going to be the ones living and dealing with the debt left behind for them. Increased spending, borrowing from China, and interest on the money borrowed are setting up our economy for an eventual crash, one that the upcoming generation may not be prepared for. Every dollar that accumulates into the debt will have to be repaid with interest at some point, making it harder to pay back. To gain a better understanding of how the U.S. dug itself into such a deep hole, one should start at the beginning of where the debt started.

We hear about the debt almost every day: news talks about it, politicians argue about it, even President Obama gives speeches on it. So what is the significance behind it? In this article I am going to explain briefly what the national debt is, how big it is, and what it has to do with us.

The total United States national debt is now over 19 trillion dollars and our Congressional leadership shows no signs of accomplishing any significant changes to make the situation better. That 19 trillion equates to almost $59,000 for every citizen of the United Sates. Sound financial practice is to not spend more money than you earn and borrow only for emergencies. It appears our Congress is incapable of adhering to sound financial practices as in the last fifty years there have only been five years when the U.S. recorded a budget surplus. Between 2009 and 2012 the U.S. added 5.5 trillion dollars to its national debt.

National debt has always been a constantly occurring problem. This debt is a problem due to the fact that it limits economic growth. With low economic growth, there tends to be a lot of problems that occur. These struggles include high interest rates which leads to higher debt, low salaries for citizens, and fewer jobs are provided which connects to higher unemployment rates in America. However, America

During presidential bids for the White House and Congressional deadlines for increasing the debt ceiling, huge debates break out as to the enormous amount of debt incurred by the federal government. Throughout our nation’s history, national debt at this magnitude is a new things. The accumulation of this amount of debt has its consequences, especially when the debt hits the nations GDP (Gross Domestic Product), or the revenue the nation takes in per year.

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.

The circle graph above shows the national debt as of December of 2014. The debt is only getting higher, and things aren’t looking good for the future. The United States isn’t acquiring enough revenue to keep up with it’s excessive spending.

The U.S. buys more good and services from other countries than exports they are selling, this is called a trade deficit. In 2007 the United States had the worst trade imbalance in the world, meaning they had the largest trade deficit. The budget deficit and trade deficit have both increased the amount of capital the U.S. needs, which comes mostly from foreigners. The trade imbalance and the money borrowed from foreign countries causes us to have a greater debt to those countries. We then have to think of our bankers,

The National debt of the United States has increased at a rate of over one trillion dollar per year for the last 10 years. The main culprit behind the rising federal deficits and debt is the growing federal spending on programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Patient Protections and Affordable Act (Obamacare). Currently, the national debt exceeds $18 trillion dollars. That amounts to more than $58,000 for each person who lives in the U.S. today (including children). Some say government spending is out of control, but other argues that the US economy has never been so large or strong either. The gross federal debt, which represents the federal government 's total outstanding debt, consists of debt held by the public and debt held in government accounts. The US has never defaulted on its debt and bills so aside from political suicide for most lawmakers that approve legislation to increase credit limits, the economy has justifiably supported continue raises in the debt ceiling. But how much “borrowing” is too much? Can we continue to raise the amount of debt the nation can take on?

It allows the government to borrow under the guarantee of the United States Dollar. Believe it or not the US dollar is the most stable tender in the world. The government has been running a deficit budget since the great depression, this adds to the debt. But through running these deficit budgets the government has been able to keep the economy generally stable. Yes, there have been recessions and inflation but nothing like the great depression. So in my opinion the national debt is a good thing, allowing the United States Government to keep things stable. Also it’s not like we can just get rid of it. The government has to borrow money every year just to pay the interest on the

The National Debt consists of the total debt accrued by local, state and federal. Public debt is essentially the federal debt, thus compiling the staggering number that already exists. The debt deficit to me is astonishing. Currently, the total public debt in the United States, as of December 16, 2015, is $18,788,138,221,346.49. This includes $13,600,726,418,253.26 debt held by the public and $5,187,411,803,093.23 by intergovernmental holdings (usgovermentdebt, 2015). High GPD is not anything new to the United States. The all-time high was 121.70 percent ($18827323.00) in 1946 and a record low of 31.70 ($253400.00) percent in 1974 (United States Government Debt to GDP, 2015). The way we are spending, and the debt we are accruing, it would