National Deficit and National Debt Essay

This creates a budget deficit because there is more being spent than what’s being brought it.

Imaging yourself accepting you’re first credit card and immediately you begin to frivolously spend all the money your bank offers you. However, come to find out, you didn’t realize there was a consequence to your spending and now you are eagerly trying to pay back the money you owe with interest. Now take that scenario and apply it to our government spending in the United States. The author of “Going for Broke,” Michael Tanner, explains in his book the current financial crisis America is subjecting themselves to in the long run. Governmental officials of various political parties are turning blind eyes to the ever-increasing concern of stability in the United States. More of our taxing paying dollars are being used to chip away at an increasing debt that our government has no intent on fixing. The goal of this paper is to address Tanner’s issues with the growing economic deficit of the American people and its complacent government. Some questions Tanner emphasis on are: what can of debt does America have, where is the taxpayers' dollar being spent on, and what will happen to our economy if nothing is fixed?

Fixing the national debt is a coservercal issue within our government. Since the two parties have opposing views on how to fix it, it creates gridlock on the process of creating a plan to reduce it. (Perdue, 2015) Our federal government debt has extensively tripled since the year 2000 (see appendix A) (Historical Debt Outstanding Annual 2000-2015,2015), today our debt is a tad bit over nineteen billion. (U.S.NationalDebtClock.org , 2016) We have arrived at his point through the imbalance between revenues and spending, fueled by ever-high interest rates. Which will approximately result with us reaching ninety percent of GDP. (Greife, 2010) The government has no revenue. Therefore, the money it receives comes from the people and the

The recent clash between the president and congress about raising the debt ceiling made the front page on every newspaper throughout the country and generated controversy of unimaginable proportion among the citizens of the United States of America (College for Financial Planning). No macroeconomics issue is more controversial today than the impact of large public debt on the economy and on future generations, but, however, there appears to be a huge disconnect between professional, political leaders, and the ordinary public about the national debt and its impact on the current and future

The amount of money that the United States government owes as of October 17, 2004 at 03:48:52 pm GMT was $7,435,016,998.21. The debt has increased by an average of $1.7 billion per day since September 30, 2003! From a more individual perspective, currently the United States population is roughly around

Federal spending is a controversial topic due especially to the growing budget deficit. Millions of American citizens pay taxes each year helping to fund the Federal Budget. Although American citizens’ tax dollars are spent by the Federal Budget, how the resources are divided and spent are not always a proper reflection of how society wants the resources to be allocated. In 2013, Washington spent nearly $3.5 trillion, while only collecting $2.8 in revenue, adding billions to the budget deficit. Where do these tax dollars go? Approximately, 23% was spent on health care such as Medicare, 22% on Social Security, 19% on national defense, 19% on

Any person struggling through difficult times will seek out other means of financial support including borrowing money that may be harder to pay back in the future. The United States will often follow a similar path and spend more money than it earns. Deficit spending in the United States comes with some advantages, disadvantages, and strong criticism. Some feel deficit spending is good for getting the economy back in motion while others contend it does nothing for the economy. The effects of deficit spending are carefully examined to determine if the United States is improving or degrading the future of the economy.

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.

Maria comes home one day earlier than usual. Her family, two daughters of age five and eight and a stay-at-home husband, is surprised to see her so early and unexpectedly. The tired look on her face reveals the experience she had at work. She brings out a sluggish smile as her daughters rush up to greet her with their warm embraces, reminding her of the happiness they constantly provide but also saddened by their questionable future. Quietly, she sits down in front of her anxious spouse as he patiently awaits the news, sensing the tension in the air.

Since the early 1950's Americans have had trouble controlling overspending. The United States government has engaged in deficit spending. This occurs when spending exceeds the amount of income

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.

There are many issues with the U.S. economy that are up for debate and in need of corrections. Possibly the most alarming issue that is not garnering enough attention is the looming debt ceiling crisis the U.S. is currently facing. The debt ceiling is the amount the U.S. can borrow to pay its bills and avoid default. Congress has acted on the debt ceiling 78 separate times by raising, temporarily extending, or revising the definition of the debt limit since 1960 (Pianin, 2017). These actions are necessary to avoid the government facing default on its debt. The government must act to avoid default by raising the debt ceiling or abolish the debt ceiling.

But having a budget is a good step in the right direction. Continuous reexamination is necessary to keep the budget on track. A potential reform for the federal budget is the switch from a short-term budget perspective to a long-term perspective (Budget & Projections, 2015, p. 1). This switch can be beneficial for several reasons. The main beneficial reason is having a greater outlook. Having a greater outlook on future budgetary effects can help policymakers make better-informed decisions in regards to the federal budget. Another potential reform for the budget is to commit and concentrate on spending control. In order to reduce the debt, spending must be under control. A good policy must be in place to ensure the control on spending is a continuous effort by the

This paper will attempt to answer the question: Is the federal deficit and government deficits in general a good or a bad thing? While it may be easy to lose sight of how the government chooses to handle its money, it is also important for citizens to be conscious of how their money is being spent, and whether or not the current course that the government is plotted on is either sustainable or the best allocation of resources.

The third category, spending and interest, accounts for the littlest of the three categories. In lament terms, Social security, military and healthcare account for the majority of our budget. This is no surprise because Social Security and healthcare are both mandatory spending (services our programs we rely on) and the military is discretionary spending (services or programs we rely on), and as stated above, this accounts for the majority of our spending, thus our debt. We rely on these services on a daily basis, and the baby boomers continue to age, the cost spends on social security and Medicare will continue to grow. The same goes for healthcare. As healthcare continues to be costly, the amount spent on Medicaid and insurance providers will continue to grow as well. After reading and understanding where the money is spent, when I took the Concord Coalition’s Federal Budget Challenge, I had a better realization of how little things can improve the deficit in big ways.