What Are The Pros And Cons Of America's Hidden Debt

“Ten Trillion and Counting,” presented by Frontline provides quite a picture of America’s national debt as it surpasses the trillion dollar mark. They ponder the financial well being of current and future retirees while also exposing on how America got into this mess, and what the Obama administration plans to do during his term. America is able to close the gap year to year in its national budget by selling bonds and T-bills. Foreigner countries who continually purchase these obligations are beginning to grow. Much like the Bush administration, the Obama administration has started borrowing big with plans to cut the budget years down the road. It is clear for anyone to see that this borrowing and the future promises of cutting cannot go

The United States is a country that revolves around money, yet is facing a $20 trillion national debt. The current issues of increasing healthcare costs, the Social Security fund, and military expenses are the main issues responsible for the debt. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was put into effect in 2010 and has become the major spender in the healthcare field. The Social Security fund is expected to be completely drained at the end of the year 2016, which will result in millions of Americans being cut short of receiving their full benefits. The United States military has become a major area to spend tax dollars on. As a result, the military budget has already begun receiving cuts in funding from maintenance and training. The solution to repairing this broken nation is simple; America must cut down salaries of the overpaid government workers. America must begin inciting business within the country to build itself back up from the tremendous debt it has taken on. The only way to recover is to bring more money into the nation than the amount of money that continues to leave. Without a solution enacted America will experience an economic collapse, devastating the country as a whole.

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.

Health care debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States (Factcheck.org). Our privatized system has failed the chronically ill population of our country. The political climate that we currently have for these issues is not addressing these issues at an appropriate pace. Health care in the United States is the most expensive in the world, and health care inflation is increasing the fastest in the world (Reid 9). As of 2005, the United States health expenditure as a percentage of GDP is fifteen point three percent (Reid 9). We currently have a system where health care costs are increasing faster than wages, and this has been going on since at least 2000 (Starr, 161). We lead the world in health care spending, and this is a hemorrhage that needs more than a bandage. Some of the other problems we face in this country are access to care, quality of care, and efficiency of care. In this paper, I will dive in to the reasons why we have these problems, and I will analyze both sides of the argument of reform. The two major political parties in the United States have very different types of solutions for these issues. I will dissect each of these approaches, and explain what works about each sides approach, and what does not work about each sides argument. I will also discuss the current US social programs that work, and explain how they work. We need congress and the president to act in cooperation to solve these issues. Our convoluted

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 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.

Did you know that the National debt is 19.8 trillion dollars? The national budget is excessive, which means the government is using more money than it needs to pay its costs. Do to intensive research in the national debt today you will be reading about what caused it, ways to get rid of it, and reasons why we have to care about the National debt.

The United States has adopted a persona of uncontrollable spending policies, and short term solutions. As the spending trajectory continues in a downward spiral, fueled by unsustainable policies, and current tax revenues, the national debt continues to grow. For many years, the United States has implemented policies that failed to address mandatory spending costs, which, unfortunately continue to outpace the national economy. Furthermore, Congress has created a habit of introducing short term solutions in order to confront a long term issue of national debt. Although, there are many driving forces behind the U.S. fiscal problem, mandatory spending

The U.S. national debt is very large at more than three-quarters the size of the economy—and growing federal spending, especially on entitlements, is quickly driving the debt to damaging levels. Federal spending was about 23 percent of the GDP in 2012—far above the historical average of 20.2 percent. It is projected to surge to nearly 36 percent in less than one generation. The government debt must be limited in some way or else our economy will face devastating consequences. The government debt has had its highs and lows throughout history in comparison to the GDP, and to reduce it, we must minimize spending on entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare.

“Existing government programs-mainly Medicare and Medicaid-face severe financial challenges, particularly in an environment plagued by an escalating national debt crisis” (Shi & Singh, 2013, p. 342). Currently, the national debt is more than fifteen trillion dollars. The immediate answer created by the President and politicians was raising the debt ceiling. However, this solution will only allow them to spend more; it does not resolve the open ended question of how to reduce the debt (Shi & Singh, 2013). Consequently, government programs are at risk, more notably Medicare.

With the United States only now beginning to recover from the throes of the Great Recession, the good American worker (armed with nightmarish memories of mass unemployment and bankruptcy) generally views large amounts of debt in a negative light, with television pundits regularly criticizing the federal government for the $18 trillion of national debt. Entire generations of Americans have been conditioned to view debtors as moochers and failures, unwilling to work hard in order to earn their own money. This negative opinion of debt is further compounded with the historic negative effects of debt: complete loss of assets, homelessness, and bankruptcy. However, contrary to public opinion, the national debt—and, in fact, all debts—will act

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?

If there is one thing that is known about the national debt, it is that it goes hand in hand with Millennials. It is a shame to think that our country's debt will be forced onto the younger generation, and we will ultimately be the ones who have to fix the situation or deal with the consequences. To be clear, the term millennial usually refers to someone who is in the 18 to 34 age bracket. Millennials are also the first generation after the baby boomers. We are now facing a time when the national debt is growing faster than the American population, and this affects everyone.