The year 2008 was one of the cherished years in our history. Every American was bolstered by the notion that change will come in the face of a new leader with bright ideas and determination to leave behind a legacy of flawed decisions by the previous administration that had not only drawn widespread criticism from all over the world but had plunged the nation into an economic meltdown. We are now heading towards 2012 and the current administration has not shown decent momentum to stand on its election campaign of bringing a change. We have been promised an end to war in Afghanistan by July of 2011, salvation from rising debts and a universal health care. So far I have observed minimum developments in these areas. According to the Department of treasury, the US owes a staggering 14 trillion which makes USA the highest indebted country in the world. Most of the debt has been incurred by the erroneous policies of constantly increasing the military spending by expanding wars and constructing unnecessary sophisticated weapons. The debt issue has directly caused two events that have threatened national unity over government spending in 2011 alone. One was the brawl over the budget between republicans and democrats that threatened a government shutdown but fortunately was averted at the eleventh hour and recently the dispute over increasing the debt ceiling. With these events unfolding unexpectedly, it is unlikely that a common man is assured of a bright future when the government cannot even make willful decisions to compromise with one another and carve out transparent solutions. The recent dept ceiling deal is expected to further increase deficit spending. This booming dept is disastrous for the economy because for every dollar we are... ... middle of paper ... ...he returning war veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq. Works Cited Devin, Dwyer., & Martinez,L. “Afghanistan War Costs Loom Large Over Obama Troops Announcement” Abcnews.go.com 22 June 2011. Web. 5 Aug.2011 Johnson, Chalmeres. “737 U.S. Military Bases = Global Empire” alternet.org 19 Feb. 2007. Web. 5 Aug. 2011. United States. Department of treasury. Bureau of public debt. The Debt to the Penny and Who Holds. Web. 5 Aug. 2011. United States. Whitehouse. Office of Management and Budget. The federal Budget fiscal year 2012. Web. 5 Aug. 2011. United States. Whitehouse. Office of the Press Secretary. Remarks by the President in State of Union Address. Web. 5 Aug. 2011. Wooldridge, Frosty. “Afghanistan and Iraq: Where The American Empire Dies” rightsidenews.com. 23 June 2011. Web. 5 Aug. 2011.
United States. U.S. Department of the Treasury. Historical Debt Outstanding – Annual 1791 – 1849. Aug.
Back in 1980, Republican president nominee Ronald Reagan pledged throughout his campaign that it was his goal to “restore the great, confident roar of American progress, growth and optimism”. Restoration, reinvigoration, and reclamation of values believed to be lost by the presidential treachery he was succeeding. Fast forward to 2008, Democratic president nominee Barack Obama did not see a need for restoration, he saw a need for new waves with his slogan “change we can believe in” after the economic destruction by W. Bush. Being such dramatic foils, the two men represent different eras of American politics. The unprecedented election of Obama severed Reagan’s seemingly everlasting legacy, signaling real changes coming to the presidency. The “Reagan Revolution” is remembered as an era of conservatism and economic peace, while Obama’s terms are viewed with mixed emotions. Obama’s impact can definitely be argued, as political information was more readily accessible in his presidency than any other in history; thanks to new technology and social communications, but since time has passed, so can Reagan’s. The use of their presidential powers is what a president is remembered for. Assessing the ranges in their backgrounds, motivations, policy creation and execution, and overall achievements, one can determine
"Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .
The national debt is usually a frightening topic citizens of any country, however, in the United States, twenty trillion dollars of national debt is one of the major fears of the economy. Along with this fear comes every politician claiming to be the person to lower this astronomical debt to ease concerns in the modern American economy. In Hamilton’s Blessing, John Steele Gordon tries to alleviate these concerns by showing a plethora of benefits and good the debt has been able to do throughout the history of the United States. The central premise of the book and the main guideline for John Steele Gordon’s thinking is that the debt was used to save the Union in the 1860’s, the American economy in the 1930’s, and the wellbeing of mankind during
The US has been in and out of debt countless times throughout history, going as far back as the Civil War. However, debt did not become a truly relevant problem until much later, in the 1980s (Budget Deficits). Up to that point, large budget deficits were generally only allowed during wartime, but this pattern ended after the Great Depression. Roosevelt’s New Deal meant that the government spent much more than it previously did, even after the economy improved (Budget De...
Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O.: for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1989; Bartleby.com, 2001. Retrieved on February 28, 2012 from www.bartleby.com/124/.
Hall, Ed. “U.S. Department of the Treasury.” Bureau of the Census, 26 July 2010. http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
Office of the Press Secretary. “Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama” The White House 01 12 2013 Web. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/21/inaugural-address-president-barack-obama
“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, official's statements can likely be discredited or influentially changed due to the varying opinions on the Federal Reserve's performance. People must be more skeptical on key federal policies in the United States due to the current recessive state of our economy plundering potentially into disastrous levels. Monetizing debt is technically legal; however it becomes an issue of morality by the specifics to which it is being conducted. The constantly growing power of federal influence on markets, specifically the selling of national securities with the purpose of debt liquidation, not only defies the ideals of a free market economy, but it also has the tendency to suppress the tax payer's financial interests.
The political parties continually blame each other in a never-ending cycle, while the state of the economy keeps falling and the national debt keeps rising. Along with that, many functions of the government, such as tax reform and Social Security, have ‘leaks’ in them, where money is being lost. As researchers look into the crisis more and more, they keep finding scary results, such as the predicted debt in 2035 being 185 percent of the country’s (GDP). Despite the work of economists, an economic problem of this seriousness has not ever appeared before. The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform worked to create a document that would lead Washington towards a solution, however this article has both advantages and disadvantages in it.
U.S Federal Deficit and Debts:Understanding the history and context. (2011, November 1). Utah Foundation. Retrieved January 25, 2014, from http://www.utahfoundation.org/img/pdfs/rr7
Obama, H, Barack. "Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union." Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents. 28 Jan. 2014: 1. eLibrary. Web. 22 May. 2014.
Public debt, which comes from securities and bonds issued by the United States Treasury, is responsible for over 60 percent of the debt (“Debt Position and Activity Report” 1). These debts are being held by the public inside and outside the US. Over 25 percent of the debts are held by foreign governments, in which China and Japan accounts for almost half of the sum (“Treasury Bulletin: September 2009” 60).
The federal budget is known as the notorious economic tank from which money is distributed to various programs. The money used every fiscal year, which begins October 1st and ends September 30th the next year, belongs to the people. The government raises this money through taxes and they spend it on national defense, Medicare, and social security. The federal budget is an exercise in making choices, and those options will certainly affect individuals living in the U.S. These choices cause debt to pile up on the government, who is struggling to make it disappear. The deficit and debt of a government gauges how well it is being run and how well it has been run in the past. According to The Economist the national debt is the total outstanding borrowing of a country’s government; it is an accumulation of deficits that has yet to be paid off (Economist, A-Z). The current U.S. federal deficit, as of the 2013 fiscal year, is a monumental $680 billion dollars, adding to an even higher debt. Any attempt to diminish this debt has the consumer footing the bill, but there has to be a different way. There have been requests to increase taxes, to raise revenues for transportation infrastructure, to restrategize the military force or to make defense more affordable (“15 Ways to Rethink the Federal Budget”, Brookings).
Reducing government spending has been one of the toughest issues in America and the congress has always put a lot of pressure on the federal budget. In this activity, I was able to simulate a budget that reduces the debt to below 60% of GDP in 2024 and made sure that the level would be kept through 2030. The decisions made were tough; however, I was convinced that the cuts I made in the budget were necessary as shown in the discussions below.