The Problem today is that the United States of America is on a very unstable financial path. The Federal debt is unsustainable. The government is spending more money than revenues that are being brought in, and they are borrowing money from feign countries to make up for the difference. More than 50% of the US debt is owed to foreign countries, the most is owed to China. If the creditors lose faith that the US can repay its debts, this may send us into a debt crisis. The budget has not been balanced since 2001. Since 2001 the GDP (Gross domestic product) rose from 33% to 62%. As the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age the situation will get much worse. The coast of health care will raise with less people paying into it. The Federal debt is driving up interest rate for all borrowing, making it even harder for people with business and the economy. (The Moment of Truth. pg. 11-12). "The Outstanding Public Debt as of 26 Nov 2013 at 04:56:35 PM GMT is: $17,219,876,068,607.85 .The estimated population of the United States is 317,122,530 so each citizen's share of this debt is $54,300.38. The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $2.73 billion per day since September 30, 2012!" (U.S. National debt clock. Web 1). There is no doubt that the Unites State Of America has a hug debt, and there must be something done about it. $54,300.38 and rising is far more than I want to pay, and I am do not want to have that number continue to rise. The United States government must do something to the out of control spending and the ever increasing debt under control, not only for our own sake, but also for the sake of our children, and our children's children. The Solution: I do not believe that raising taxes and yet keeping the same level of spending is the answer to our debt problem. I believe that we must cut all unnecessary , and unaffordable government spending. I would let the Bush tax cut expire, except for the AMT patches and Estate tax which would remain at 2009 levels. This would be the only rise in taxes that I would allow. One of the major areas of spending is Social security with over 22% of the
One thing that I have learned about college is that you have to sometimes talk about things that make you uncomfortable or scared in order to learn. I do not think I am alone in saying that the United States’ current debt situation is terrifying. Ten trillion dollars alone is an expansive and unimaginable amount of money, and since PBS produced Ten Trillion and Counting in 2009, the national debt has grown to twenty-one trillion. As stated, the documentary was produced during the first months of former President Barack Obama’s first term and focused on former President George W. Bush’s relationship with national debt during his eight year tenure. Ten Trillion and Counting explains some of the questionable decisions that former President Bush made, especially regarding fiscal policy.
Moreover, individual borrowers are not the only ones who face the consequences of the loan default. The federal government recovers around 80% of the total defaulted amount of student loans, losing billions of dollars each year. The latest data from the U.S. Department of Education indicates that student loan default rates have been rising. Official 2011 default rate is 10%. ("Comparison of FY 2011 2-Year Official Cohort Default Rates to Prior Two Official Calculations"). The New York Federal Reserve reported that as of March 31, 2013 outstanding student debt surpassed credit card debt and was approaching the $1 trillion mark (Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit). If student loan default rates stay unchanged, the federal government will lose $200,000,000,000 of taxpayers’ money over the next few decades because of student loan defaults. Below is the chart representing the outstanding credit card and student loan debt over the last ten years (Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit).
The country needs to start monitoring how the government is spending the federal budget and they need to start splitting it fairly to benefit our country. 83% of the federal budget is spent on the Big Five which are the main expenses in the budget. We have to stop spending it all on the Big Five. Our government should really pay attention to what we need most of in this country and focus on the needs. The government needs to take away 20% of the Big Five and split it to categories that need it.
However the interest we pay on our nation 's debt is very small compared to the overall budget. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities only 7% of the total budget is spent on interest which is relatively low compared to things like social security which took up 24% of the budget in 2014 (Policy Basics). As long as the United States can continue to keep the interest rates low the debt will continue to be a begin threat. If the creditors of the U.S. were to spike their interest rates, America would be in trouble, however America has fairly good credit, and it should remain that way unless there is another scare like the government shutdown in 2011 (Riley). Overall the threat of the nation debt is a very minute problem in the grand scheme of things. According to The Richest, only five nations in the entire world are completely debt free, which is astounding when you consider that there are about 195 countries in the entire world (Mathers; How Many). These figures show how extremely difficult it is for a country to run without having a certain amount of debt, and America having debt should not be a concern. America is not even in the top ten countries whose debt make up the majority of their GDP (Country List). Which means that at the moment American’s should not be overly
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...
In general, an increase in government spending and decrease in the collection of government taxes and other receipts, increases the debt held by the local government. Government taxes and receipts fluctuate annually, and are frequently less than government spending. In the past, the U.S. public debt has increased for the duration of wars and recessions. When the government consumes more than what it accumulates in taxes, there is a budget deficit and the government then borrows from the private sector or from foreign governments to protect their spending. The compilation of historical borrowing is what materializes the government debt.
The American peoples debt is almost entirely the faults of all those who participate in the active use of the credit cards solicited to them. This is due to several factors, the first of which is the ability of classes below the Upper-Middle and Upper classes being able to acquire credit cards easily and readily. The second reason is that the interest rates of these credit cards, set by the companies that advertise and produce them, has been and, in the foreseeable future, will be extremely high. Finally, the credit card debt is such a problem today because the market for credit card companies is so concentrated that isn't regulated enough to make any difference.
Government spending is a controversial topic. Even though the government has a set budget each year that Congress and the President of the United States collaborate on, the United States continues to fall deeper in debt. According to U.S. National Debt, the U.S debt has been larger than our total annual gross domestic product since 2012. In other words, our debt is larger than the value of all the goods and services produced in the country within a twelve month period. “It is said that the U.S is currently $19.2 trillion dollars in debt (U.S. National Debt).” As long as Congress and the President continue to run yearly budget deficits, the U.S debt will continue to rise.
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
The U.S. National debt affects consumers every day, but probably most notably in Americans facing higher taxes, higher interest rates, and the U.S. government cutting back on services, weaker job markets, and lastly inflation. The national debt exists as a result of government shortfalls, or deficit budgets in which the government's expenses exceed its revenues. Internal debt includes the amount borrowed from sources within the country. The government raises this money by selling bonds, bills, securities, and government. Along with internal debt, countries are also likely to have external debt. External debt is the money borrowed from foreign sou...
Debt is slowly pushing America’s economy into an unstable state. This will eventually result in a dramatic increase of taxes, which will subsequently decrease the overall budget of most Americans. National debt is increased even more when people abuse credit, accepting debt into their lives. Unless America focuses its efforts to discouraging materialism by spending less money than what its overall income is, it will proceed further into debt, risking even higher taxes and bankruptcy. Our nation has to overcome its nurtured materialism before we can truly expect to improve its economic status.
Alexander Hamilton once said, “a national debt, if not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.” The debt of the United States of America is by far excessive. As of April 27th 2014, at 7:45PM GMT, the estimated apparent debt is $17, 444, 8555, 980, 176.09; which makes each of the 318, 108, 108 citizens owe a portion of $54, 839.39 and demonstrates the daily increase in debt of $2.40 billion. Evidently, such a crisis did not arise over night. Numbers have steadily soared with the occasional dip and fluctuation. As for the deficit, the U.S. continues to spend more than it receives in revenue, adding to the cumulative debt. If the government continues expenditures in such increased amounts, the country will never eliminate its trillions upon trillions of debt.
... country’s political leaders to recognize that the spiraling level of debt is a problem that is likely to impact future generations.
We the People of the United State’s need to find ways to get rid of the debt of $19.8 trillion and it is still increasing.
Per usgovermentdebt.us the national debt is over nineteen trillion dollars. This extremely high amount could be America’s down fall, and how it should be lowered, is a widely debated issue.