Essay on U.S. National Debt - 551 Words

U.S. National Debt The U.S. national debt has reached an alarming proportion. As it steadily increases, its effect may not be felt now, but it will be in the future. Paul Gregory and Roy ruffin, in their book entitled Economics, linked deficits with inflation in the long run (251). Demand-side inflation of this type fails to increase the GDP, but instead just increases prices. Continuous increases in prices do not benefit the country or future generations. Also entitlements, such as Social Secriuty and Medicaid, now engulf a large percent of the deficit. Figures from the article The Entitlement Quaqmire (http://www.europa.com/~blugene/deficit/entitlements.html) concluded that Social Secruity was the largest†¦show more content†¦Sure, the Keynesian approach did prove valuable during the Great Depression; however, even Keynes had a limits on this type of spending. Keynes said that during productive time surpluses should be run to balance out the deficits. However, with lags in the use of fiscal policy and the fact that the government has many incentives to spend then cut, deficits are ths majority. In Gregory and Ruffins book, they site that since the 1960s there has only been three!instances (small ones at that) of surpluses in the total government (180). Right now these deficits are not a problem because the rate in the growth of the income is greater than the rate at which the debt increases, but there is no guarentee this will continue so the growth of the debt must be in check now. A balanced budget plan must be inacted to restrict the governmental bias toward spending to generate a few more surpluses that eventually will balance the deficits incurred. The terms of the balanced budget must cover a range of years, not a yearly proposal, so that an expansionary fiscal policy in the face of a severe recession can be used. Cuts must be made in the budget, but more important the choices for where the money will go must beShow MoreRelatedU.s National Debt And History1304 Words   |  6 PagesUS national debt and history The national debt of US is the amount owed by the federal government. In the past decade, $12.7 trillion have been added to the US national debt and at the end of fiscal year of 2016, the amount is expected to be approximately $22.4 trillion including federal, state and local. Debt per citizen will be over $63.000 and debt per taxpayer is about $163.000. The largest budget is medical care which is about $1.5 trillion and mostly introduced by Obama’s administration andRead MoreThe U.s. National Debt1129 Words   |  5 Pages The U.S. national debt is currently $18 trillion dollars and it is rising fast. The national debt today is the highest the U.S. has ever seen. In George Washington’s Farewell Address, he declared the U.S. should avoid going into debt. If the nation end up in a deficit, that the debtors were responsible for paying off the debt so that it doesn’t burden the future generations. Like the rest of this advice in his Farewell Address, the nation ign ored it. The ideal goal right now should be to stop theRead MoreThe U.s. National Debt1650 Words   |  7 Pages 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 debtRead MoreU.s. National Debt, And Overseas Outsourcing1853 Words   |  8 PagesOne of the biggest questions facing America today is if it is ready for Globalization. I believe that we are not ready for a variety of reasons, but there are a few that stand out in my mind. The top factors concerning the U.S. are ineffective nature of Congress, U.S. national debt, and o verseas outsourcing. I want to first begin with our federal government. It is ineffective and inefficient for a number of reasons. The first starts with the ineffective nature of Congress. Although there has been aRead MoreThe Current Total U.s. National Debt1070 Words   |  5 PagesGovernment Spending 1. What is the current total U.S. National Debt? ïÆ'Ëœ The current total U.S. National Debt is: 18,150,545,316,215 (Get Involved 2015). 2. In what year did debt as a percentage of GDP achieve record highs? How high was it? Based on current projections when will debt reach that share of GDP again? ïÆ'Ëœ The year the debt percentage of the GDP achieved record highs was 1946, at 106.1. (Get Involved 2015). The debt will reach that share of GDP again in approximately 2031 (Get InvolvedRead MoreThe U.S. National Debt and Selected Reduction Plans and Interest Group Positions2037 Words   |  9 Pageswas the measure of the public debt at last count in January 2012 (The Bureau of Public Debt). Even at the current higher-than-average national average gas price of $3.51 that could buy more than four trillion gallons of gas (Pankratz). That’s enough gasoline to drive a Hummer H2 around the equator of the Earth one hundred and seventy-five million times. It is also 31 times the U.S. yearly consumption of gasoline(U.S. Department of Energy). The ratio of government debt held by the public to currentRead MoreThe Problem Of A Good Job1644 Words   |  7 Pagesbut to all the citizens out there who s earned degrees and still without work would beg to differ knowing it s not as easy as it sounds. According to (Shahien Nasiripour’s, Politics) unpaid student debt is at an all-time high of 1.3 trillion dollars. That s roughly 8 percent of the national Debt! There s such a drive for the chase of the â€Å"American Dream† people aren t considering the outcomes of taking these loans to get into school only to find themselves right back where they started. If aRead MoreTrump And The Political World1013 Words   |  5 Pages However, are the American people sure why? I believe Trump is leading in the polls due to his interest in the United States’ national debt. Although one way Trump is planning to rid our debt is by cutting into US citizens’ tax returns, I believe Donald Trump has the political world wrapped around his finger because of his initiative and courage with ridding the US debt. The American people should be able to see the overall picture of what Trump is aiming for. It is a brighter future for all involvedRead MoreThe National Debt Of The United States2290 Words   |  10 PagesThe National debt of the United States has increased at a rate of over one trillion dollar per year for the last 10 years. The main culprit behind the rising federal deficits and debt is the growing federal spending on programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Patient Protections and Affordable Act (Obamacare). Currently, the national debt exceeds $18 trillion dollars. That amounts to more than $58,000 for each person who lives in the U.S. today (including children). Some sayRead MoreAmerican Charity Organizations : America s Stand Point On The Ordeal1290 Words   |  6 Pagescountries, but what about the detrimental issues that occur and worsen here every day? In the pa st, the majority of organizations are predominantly directed at foreign countries; helping places such as Ethiopia, India, Somalia, etc. While here, poverty and debt are increasing by surmountable amounts. Charities for other regions are beneficial, but shouldn’t people here be first priority? The majority of problems have the potential to be easily fixed. What happens when we have nothing left to give? If the