Nation in Debt , livre ebook

National Issues Forums Institute - Sutton Stokes

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It is not unusual-and not necessarily a problem-for a government to have at least some debt. But how much is too much? Many Americans think the US national debt is too large and want to try to get it under control. By the end of fiscal year 2018, the US government owed around $21.7 trillion in gross federal debt ($15.8 trillion in public debt and $5.9 trillion in intragovernmental debt-money that is owed by one part of the government to another part). It was $10 trillion just ten years ago and is projected to rise to $34 trillion in another decade. This issue book asks: What should we do to shrink the national debt? In addressing it, we have many things to con- sider and weigh. This guide lays out three ways of approaching the national debt. Some deal with reducing the debt more directly, while others would increase the debt in the short term with no long-term guarantee that the national debt would be reduced. Each suggests actions that we might take, but every action has trade-offs we should consider. By working through each option, we can come to our own individual and collective decisions about what we would support and under what conditions.About National Issues ForumThe National Issues Forums (NIF) is a network of organizations that brings together citizens around the nation to talk about pressing social and political issues of the day. Thousands of community organizations, including schools, libraries, churches, civic groups, and others, have sponsored forums designed to give people a public voice in the affairs of their communities and their nation. For more information about NIF and for additional publications, see NIF's website at www.nifi.org.

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USA

United States of America

Central government

Political economy

Central

États-Unis

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Publié par	National Issues Forums Institute
Date de parution	13 février 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781946206350
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0120€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

One Way to Hold a Deliberative Forum

Ground Rules for a Forum
■ Focus on the options.
■ All options should be considered fairly.
■ No one or two individuals should dominate.
■ Maintain an open and respectful atmosphere.
■ Everyone is encouraged to participate.
■ Listen to each other.
About This Issue Guide
Our nation’s debt has never been larger, and it has the potential to affect not only each of us, but future generations. This issue guide is designed to support people deliberating together about how we should approach the issue. There is no perfect solution but, by considering three different approaches for dealing with the debt, we can try to understand the viewpoints of others and reflect on what is most important to us. Each option sees the debt from a different perspective, and not all options address reducing the national debt equally.
There are difficult questions we need to think about—questions without easy answers:
■ Should all of us have to tighten our belts, or should we ask more from larger corporations or wealthier citizens?
■ Should we take drastic action to shrink the debt, or would that upend the economy?
■ What’s the right direction for tax rates to go—up, to cover our spending, or down, to encourage investment and growth that might expand the economy?
■ Are we willing to live with a much smaller federal government—and if so, what benefits and services are we willing to live without?
Some of the worst problems with the debt lie in the future, so it’s easy to procrastinate. But the effects are becoming more visible now. By 2020—not that far away—the government will spend more on interest on the national debt than on Medicaid. By 2023, we’ll spend more on interest on the national debt than on the Department of Defense.
The research involved in developing this guide includes conversations with Americans from a variety of backgrounds, surveys of nonpartisan public-opinion research, consideration of many people’s ideas and thoughts on what the best solutions might be, and reviews by people who know this topic well.

© ISTOCK.COM/PEEPO
Contents
A Nation in Debt: How Can We Pay the Bills?
Option 1: Agree to Limits
Option 2: Strengthen Checks and Balances
Option 3: Invest in Growth First
Closing Reflections
Summary
A Nation in Debt
How Can We Pay the Bills?

IT IS NOT UNUSUAL—and not necessarily a problem—for a government to have at least some debt. But how much is too much? Many Americans think the US national debt is too large and want to try to get it under control.
How large is the national debt?
By the end of fiscal year 2018, the US government owed around $21.7 trillion in gross federal debt ($15.8 trillion in public debt and $5.9 trillion in intragovernmental debt—money that is owed by one part of the government to another part). It was $10 trillion just ten years ago and is projected to rise to $34 trillion in another decade.
What’s the difference between the national debt and the national deficit?
National deficit and national debt are not the same. When our government spends more than it earns in taxes during a year, the shortfall is referred to as the deficit. Most years, the US government runs a deficit. In 2015, the deficit was $438 billion; in 2016, it had risen to $585 billion, and in 2018, the deficit reached $779 billion.

Source: The White House, Historical Tables , Table 7.1, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/historical-tables/ *As of 10/15/2018, Treasury Direct, https://treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/current Note: Graph shows rise in debt from decade to decade but does not reflect fluctuations in debt between decades.
When there is a deficit, the country must borrow money to make up the difference, adding to the national debt .
How does the US government borrow money?
The US cannot just take out a bank loan when it needs to borrow money. Instead, it issues Treasury bonds—basically IOUs that are purchased by individuals, organizations, and other governments. When these bonds mature, the government pays back the money plus interest. US bonds are considered extremely safe investments and will continue to be—as long as investors believe there is no way the US government would default and fail to pay them back.
Just about anyone who wants to can buy Treasury bonds, so US debt is held by people and companies around the world. Currently, 43 percent of the US public debt is held by foreign investors, including about $2.2 trillion held by China and Japan. This means that nearly half of the interest payments on Treasury bonds is leaving the country.
How much debt is too much?
A common way of measuring the size of a cou

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