"WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NATIONAL DEBT, IN 2 CHARTS" - Lauren Bowman / Romina Boccia / October 23, 2016 / http://dailysignal.com/2016/10/23/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-national-debt-in-2-charts/ [AS I SEE IT: As significant a problem as our growing national debt is, it's tragic that in the 3 Presidential and one Vice-Presidential debate, the subject was not even brought up let alone were the candidates asked what specifically they would do to reduce it. It's hard to understand how the mainstream media gets away with not acknowledging this continually growing problem that spells disaster in the years ahead for our country. - Stan]
The fact that the national debt jumped by $1.4 trillion in one short year should spur Congress to put an end to this excess.
The debt hit a record-breaking high of $19.6 trillion at the close of the federal government’s 2016 fiscal year on Sept. 30. It had totaled $18.1 trillion at the end of the previous fiscal year.
(Chart by John Fleming/The Heritage Foundation)
The gross national debt includes intragovernmental debt, or debt the federal government owes to itself—for example, to the Social Security trust fund—in addition to debt held by the public.
Federal debt held by the public, or money the government borrowed in financial markets, rose from $13.1 trillion to $14.1 trillion over fiscal 2016. That’s an increase of $1 trillion. Federal debt held by the public now exceeds 75 percent of what the economy produced, as measured by gross domestic product. To put this into perspective, debt owned by the public surpassed 70 percent of GDP during only one other time in American history—from 1944 to 1950, due to the large expenditures for World War II.
The debt not only has skyrocketed but is projected to increase as budget deficits rise due to excessive spending. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—three programs affected by the aging and retirement of the baby boomers—are especially key. These three programs, along with interest on the debt and Obamacare, are projected to make up 83 percent of increased spending over the next decade. To seriously control spending and debt, Congress must alter the authorizing statutes of the programs.
Growing spending fuels the growth in debt. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the debt will rise to 86 percent of GDP by 2026, to 106 percent by 2035, and to 141 percent by 2046.
America continues on this path of unsustainable debt, we likely will face negative consequences such as higher interest costs, slower economic growth, and a greater chance of a fiscal crisis. According to the CBO, “a large amount of federal debt will reduce the nation’s output and income below what would occur if the debt was smaller.”
We already are experiencing anemic economic growth, as illustrated by the slowest economic recovery in 50 years following the Great Recession. The debt also presents a security challenge to the United States because it reduces the flexibility of the government to address national threats and crises. Congress must begin immediately to take our debt problem seriously.
With the lame-duck session of Congress beginning after the Nov. 8 elections, however, Americans need to pay extra attention that lawmakers don’t get into budget mischief. Confronted with the expiration of a short-term spending measure funding government operations through Dec. 9, Congress may try to increase spending on defense and domestic programs. Lawmakers also are known to use such opportunities where accountability is low to move unpopular legislation, such as extending suspension of the debt limit, set to expire in March.
To control unsustainable spending and debt, Congress should reform programs that run on autopilot budgets, cut excessive domestic spending, and agree to a budget that balances. [Note:
The Heritage Foundation’s “Blueprint for Balance”(http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2016/02/a-blueprint-for-balance-a-federal-budget-for-2017) and “Blueprint for Reform” (http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2016/07/blueprint-for-reform) lay out that path in detail.
[bold, italics, and colored emphasis mine]
Lauren Bowman is a member of The Heritage Foundation's Young Leaders Program. Romina Boccia focuses on federal spending and the national debt as the deputy director of Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies and the Grover M. Hermann fellow in federal budgetary affairs at The Heritage Foundation. Read her research.
"Within a Generation, Our National Debt Will Cost the Typical Family $12,000" - Lauren Bowman / Romina Boccia / October 20, 2016 / http://dailysignal.com/2016/10/20/within-a-generation-our-national-debt-will-cost-the-typical-family-12000/?
"The Government Just Spent $168 Billion More Than the Year Before" - Lauren Bowman / Romina Boccia / October 19, 2016 / http://dailysignal.com/2016/10/19/the-government-just-spent-168-billion-more-than-the-year-before/
The fact that the national debt jumped by $1.4 trillion in one short year should spur Congress to put an end to this excess.
The debt hit a record-breaking high of $19.6 trillion at the close of the federal government’s 2016 fiscal year on Sept. 30. It had totaled $18.1 trillion at the end of the previous fiscal year.
(Chart by John Fleming/The Heritage Foundation)
The gross national debt includes intragovernmental debt, or debt the federal government owes to itself—for example, to the Social Security trust fund—in addition to debt held by the public.
Federal debt held by the public, or money the government borrowed in financial markets, rose from $13.1 trillion to $14.1 trillion over fiscal 2016. That’s an increase of $1 trillion. Federal debt held by the public now exceeds 75 percent of what the economy produced, as measured by gross domestic product. To put this into perspective, debt owned by the public surpassed 70 percent of GDP during only one other time in American history—from 1944 to 1950, due to the large expenditures for World War II.
The debt not only has skyrocketed but is projected to increase as budget deficits rise due to excessive spending. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—three programs affected by the aging and retirement of the baby boomers—are especially key. These three programs, along with interest on the debt and Obamacare, are projected to make up 83 percent of increased spending over the next decade. To seriously control spending and debt, Congress must alter the authorizing statutes of the programs.
Growing spending fuels the growth in debt. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the debt will rise to 86 percent of GDP by 2026, to 106 percent by 2035, and to 141 percent by 2046.
America continues on this path of unsustainable debt, we likely will face negative consequences such as higher interest costs, slower economic growth, and a greater chance of a fiscal crisis. According to the CBO, “a large amount of federal debt will reduce the nation’s output and income below what would occur if the debt was smaller.”
We already are experiencing anemic economic growth, as illustrated by the slowest economic recovery in 50 years following the Great Recession. The debt also presents a security challenge to the United States because it reduces the flexibility of the government to address national threats and crises. Congress must begin immediately to take our debt problem seriously.
With the lame-duck session of Congress beginning after the Nov. 8 elections, however, Americans need to pay extra attention that lawmakers don’t get into budget mischief. Confronted with the expiration of a short-term spending measure funding government operations through Dec. 9, Congress may try to increase spending on defense and domestic programs. Lawmakers also are known to use such opportunities where accountability is low to move unpopular legislation, such as extending suspension of the debt limit, set to expire in March.
To control unsustainable spending and debt, Congress should reform programs that run on autopilot budgets, cut excessive domestic spending, and agree to a budget that balances. [Note:
The Heritage Foundation’s “Blueprint for Balance”(http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2016/02/a-blueprint-for-balance-a-federal-budget-for-2017) and “Blueprint for Reform” (http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2016/07/blueprint-for-reform) lay out that path in detail.
[bold, italics, and colored emphasis mine]
Lauren Bowman is a member of The Heritage Foundation's Young Leaders Program. Romina Boccia focuses on federal spending and the national debt as the deputy director of Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies and the Grover M. Hermann fellow in federal budgetary affairs at The Heritage Foundation. Read her research.
"Within a Generation, Our National Debt Will Cost the Typical Family $12,000" - Lauren Bowman / Romina Boccia / October 20, 2016 / http://dailysignal.com/2016/10/20/within-a-generation-our-national-debt-will-cost-the-typical-family-12000/?
"The Government Just Spent $168 Billion More Than the Year Before" - Lauren Bowman / Romina Boccia / October 19, 2016 / http://dailysignal.com/2016/10/19/the-government-just-spent-168-billion-more-than-the-year-before/
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