U.s. Debt Is Growing

The national deficit in 2015 was $435 billion, which means the U.S. government spent $435 billion more than it brought in. This consistent overspending has led to a debt of over $19 trillion dollars. When pondering these incomprehensible figures it is important to consider the causes that led to this financial dilemma, and the effects such a huge debt will have on society.

Overspending is a pertinent problem facing the lawmakers in Congress. In 2012 discretionary spending reached $1.3 trillion and mandatory spending $2 trillion, while only bringing in $2.5 trillion in revenue. Since the turn of the century back in 2000, non-mandatory spending by the government has topped out a whopping $16.1 trillion just in the past 13 years (Boccia, Frasser & Goff 2013). This persistent overspending on programs and services that are not necessary to the functionality of the country is what is causing the deficit to rise year after year. To remedy this issue the government must either increase the revenue it brings in through taxes and trade or reduce the amount of money it spend or perhaps even both. In 2012 thirty-one cents of every dollar that Washington spent was borrowed (Boccia, Frasser & Goff 2013). Most of which went to large programs such as Social Security and Medicare and if these large, growing programs, or just the budget in general, do not undergo financial reform it could spell disaster for the economy and fiscal state of the nation.

We hear about the debt almost every day: news talks about it, politicians argue about it, even President Obama gives speeches on it. So what is the significance behind it? In this article I am going to explain briefly what the national debt is, how big it is, and what it has to do with us.

While there are many issues that America faces, there is one problem that stands out to be greater than the rest. The notable problem that our Nation faces is National debt. Our nation’s debt is a dramatic problem due to the fact that America has been in debt for almost two hundred and twenty eight years, and continuing to increase every day.

We as americans seem to have a very serious problem. By doing some research I have been able to conclude some intresting ideas on what to do to fix our debt problem. First of all we need to stop bwing in wars, the more that we lose the more that we are going to be hurt and deeper in the hole of debt we will go. Second we need to stop paying our RETIRED U.S. presidents so much money it's not helping the fact that they get so much. We need to also need to stop buying so much imported goods. If we can accomplish these simpe tasks we can fix a lot of our debt problems and be a better country.

I believe the debt facing America is one of America's largest problems to this day. America is over 18 trillion dollars in debt. Politicians always speak of reducing the debt, however it has not been done. The debt of America has not even been paused for an extremely long time. According to, taxpolicycenter.org only 55% of Americas spending is mandatory. This means that America may be able to reduce spending by 45%. The main priorities America spends it’s money on is social security, unemployment, food and agriculture, transportation, medical and health care, and veterans benefit. These things are very important, but it makes one wonder, where is the other 45% going? Citizens of America has always said that America, indeed the best country

We have a long story of debt, but it seems no one has been able to make it better. If the debt is increasing over time, the government has a budget deficit. Charles C. Turner, et al, defines the deficit as spending that exceed a revenue (482). In history, basic deficit or debt was usually from over spending from a war and economic issues like a recession or depression. Then the government had a budget deficit almost every year “between 1970 and 1997,” but the tax cut and more spending on defense by President Reagan in 1981 added more growth to the deficit. Also, another cause is from reducing of productivity seem in the GDP and lower tax rate (tax cut) (483). Even when the government had some budget surplus, still, it could not cover the debt. In 2012, the debt grew “over $ 16 trillion,” (482-483) and has increased more in recent year plus “2.9 percent” of the budget deficit in 2016 (The 2016 Long Term Budget Outlook, 2). To manage the economic depression, sometime policymakers cut the taxes and increase spending again by putting more money into the private sectors (Turner, 483); therefore, government goes further with the budget unbalancing. There are several reasons that lower the tax rate will not reduce the budget deficit closer to a balance.

The US National debt approaches 20 trillion dollars, and no large measures are in place to slow its increase. Addressing the debt problem will require the American people to sacrifice either their money, or the promises that the government gave to them. The American people and their government must be responsible and address the debt problem now, before it becomes unmanageable in the future.

Americans are known for our high standard of living, but many Americans are not aware that the United States money is borrowed. Annually Americans are making the nation’s debt bigger and bigger. Due to the ignorance of many American’s, the United States is in decline. In Andrew Romano’s NEWSWEEK article How ignorant are Americans, states that “gave 1,000 Americans the U.S. Citizenship test—38 percent failed. The country’s future is imperiled by our ignorance.” Just under half the test takers are unable to answer basic questions of how the United Sates became as what it has.

In most cases, debt can be perceived as something specific in nature which the debtor and the creditor often fail to control at will. With this perception, the USA National Debt refers to the finances owed by the federal government. In fact, we have two primary components of the national debt that include the debt held by the government and the debt held by the public. The United States ' National debt has been rising at an average rate of about $1.65 billion yearly due to increasing in government spending and decrease in taxation that end up fluctuating during the fiscal year(Trehan, et. al, 206).

another. The fact that a deficit will increase the debt of the U.S., and one deficit and debt does have the same effect on the taxpayers. So there are four different areas which the debt and deficit affects on the U.S. taxpayer: higher taxes, reduced benefits/ programs, higher interest

The 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 say government spending is out of control, but other argues that the US economy has never been so large or strong either. The gross federal debt, which represents the federal government 's total outstanding debt, consists of debt held by the public and debt held in government accounts. The US has never defaulted on its debt and bills so aside from political suicide for most lawmakers that approve legislation to increase credit limits, the economy has justifiably supported continue raises in the debt ceiling. But how much “borrowing” is too much? Can we continue to raise the amount of debt the nation can take on?

On September 30, 2015, the end of the previous fiscal year, the national debt of the United States was $18.15 trillion, while GPD was only $17.95 trillion, according to the U.S Department of the Treasury and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). With a national debt larger than GDP, and a deficit greater than GDP growth, the topic has reemerged in political discussion. Two main schools of thought seem to exist on the topic: one side argues that the large size and rate of growth poses an immediate effect to the economic well-being of the country, while the other side stand by the idea that while the deficit needs to be managed, the amount of debt remains a reasonable sum. One supporter of the first viewpoint, Dr. J.D. Foster, deputy chief economics

Federal government spending is increasing, deficits are lingering, and the amount of accumulated debt is reaching dangerously high levels. Growing spending and debt are undermining economic growth and may push the nation into a severe financial crisis in coming years (Edwards, 2016). How can we keep our balance and spending under control? Federal spending is becoming more and more of a problem, and Bill Clinton did not balance our budget. He did provide solutions to balance our budget but allegations state he was only a bystander in the timely process.

For as long as Americans can remember there has always been a federal deficit. In fact, the only time in American history when there was no federal debt was under president Andrew Jackson, and it only lasted a single year(Wall Street Journal). The federal government never managed to pay off the debt again, although some administrations, like Coolidge’s and Clinton’s, have managed to run brief surpluses(Wall Street Journal). Yet today there seems to be no limit on the debt and deficit spending, and a key question has been pressed into the forefront of politics and fiscal policy, “is