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National Debt and Budget Deficit Essay

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Much like a person or a corporation, the United States government uses money for its operations; meaning that it has both income and expenses. The income of the United States is derived from various taxes and fees and the expenses are what the U.S. government pays out for national defense, highways, social welfare programs, and various other programs.
In an election year, the average citizen is apt to hear a great deal of talk about income, taxes, spending, and more importantly budget deficits and the national debt. Given all of the talk, one may come to think that budget deficits and the national debt are one in the same. While the two do go hand-in-hand, it is important to understand that they are two separate things. …show more content…

Of course, when we, as individuals, borrow money and we pay interest on it, which increases our debt.
The U.S. is no different. In fiscal year 2007, the U.S. paid out $430 billion in interest. This exorbitant interest expense continues to increase the U.S. annual deficit, which in turn, continues to increase the national debt that now stands at over $9.5 trillion (Hall, 2008).
As anyone who has experienced financial trouble, especially with credit cards, it is the interest on the debt that creates the biggest problem. For the U.S., the only way to reduce the interest is to reduce the debt. The only to reduce the debt is to begin paying it off, and the only way to pay off the debt is to sustain significant surpluses.
The only way to sustain a surplus is to spend less than one receives. On an individual plane, this is certainly feasible. However, on a national plane, in order to maintain a surplus is to reduce government spending and increase taxes. No other solutions are possible. References
Budget deficit. InvestorWords.com. Retrieved August 5, 2008, from InvestorWords.com website: http://www.investorwords.com/601/budget_deficit.html
National debt. InvestorWords.com. Retrieved August 5, 2008, from InvestorWords.com website: http://www.investorwords.com/601/budget_deficit.html
Adamson, J.C. (2008). What is the National Debt – and What is the Deficit? Retrieved August 5, 2008, from The Muser website:

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