Posts Tagged ‘national debt’

The Debt Ceiling is…

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

The debt ceiling is the established limit on how much outstanding debt the United States government can owe. The government is allowed most types of borrowing under the condition that it stays below the debt ceiling.

Previously, Congress had to give the okay for each separate debt issuance that the federal government requested. However, during World War I, it became tiring for the federal government to constantly ask for approval. The debt ceiling emerged so that the government did not have to repeatedly seek permission and could manage its borrowing more freely.

Debt and the Presidents of the United States

Friday, April 15th, 2011

If you’ve ever watched the news, you probably know that every problem facing our nation is all one person’s fault: the president.

Well, that’s probably not fair.

This neat-o infographic shows the net worth of every U.S. president and the national debt when they entered and left office. It’s a great perspective during this particular time of budget crisis and finger-pointing.

Do you see any patterns? Is the federal deficit tied to a president’s money-management skills? Wealth? Or something entirely different (like, uh, wars and recessions)?

presidents-and-debt.png
(via credit sesame)

If we need more money, why can’t the government just print more?

Dissecting the Past, Planning for the Future

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
This is a great article if you want to understand where our current deficit comes from. The article strikes down many common misconceptions about the deficit and supports it all with well-presented data.
  • The national deficit puts the U.S. economy in an extremely precarious position because we are dependent on foreign lenders to pay for it.
  • The Obama administration maintains that health care reform is the key to eliminating the deficit. However, the administration is not promoting the kind of reforms that would most effectively decrease the debt.
  • Health care reform alone will not eliminate the national debt. No matter what solution is ultimately reached, it will have to include spending cuts and tax increases.

Facts & Figures

  • 2001 estimates for the years 2009-2012 was an $800 billion surplus per year. Today, the estimate is an annual deficit of $1.2 trillion.
  • The debt comes from four main sources: 37% from the business cycle, 33% as a result of the policies of George W. Bush, 20% from President Obama’s continuation of several of those policies, and 10% from new policies of Obama’s.
  • Obama’s goal is to achieve a deficit equal to no more than 3% of the GDP in the next five to 10 years, but current estimates are at least a 4% deficit.

Best Quote

“Bush behaved incredibly irresponsibly for eight years. On the one hand, it might seem unfair for people to blame Obama for not fixing it. On the other hand, he’s not fixing it. And not fixing it is, in a sense, making it worse.” – Alan Auerbach, Economist at the University of California, Berkeley