[PDF] The Federal Debt eBook

Author : Carl Lane
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 30,5 MB
Release : 2016
Category : BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
ISBN : 9781594162664

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The staggering United States debt has a direct impact on every American, yet few are aware of where the debt came from and how it affects their lives The United States has a debt problem--we owe more than $18 trillion while our gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced in America, is only $17.5 trillion. To pay down the debt, some recommend austerity, cutting federal expenditures. Others suggest increasing taxes, especially on the wealthiest Americans. In Understanding the National Debt: What Every American Needs to Know, economic historian Carl Lane urges that the national debt must be addressed in ways beyond program cuts or tax increase alternatives, but change can only occur when more Americans understand what constitutes our debt and the problems it causes. The gross national debt is composed of two elements: the public debt and "intragovernment holdings." The public debt consists of bonds, bills, and notes purchased by individuals, banks, insurance companies, hedge and retirement funds, foreign governments, and university endowments. Intragovernment holdings refers to money that the U.S. Treasury borrows from other parts of the government, principally Social Security and Medicare. This accounts for approximately a quarter of the gross national debt, but that is money that we owe to ourselves, not another entity. The more the government borrows, the less is available for private sector investment, creating a "squeeze" effect that inhibits economic growth. The most burdensome problem is the interest due each year on the debt. Every dollar spent on interest is a dollar less for other purposes. Those elements of the federal budget which are termed "discretionary" suffer. The mandatory elements of the budget--Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the interest on the debt--must be provided for, but defense and national security, education, energy, infrastructure repair and development, and other needs wind up with less. By understanding the national debt we have an opportunity to address our real debt challenge--its principal and interest.

Author : Simon Johnson
Publisher : Vintage
Page : 386 pages
File Size : 38,84 MB
Release : 2013-02-12
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0307947645

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From the authors of the national bestseller 13 Bankers, a chilling account of America’s unprecedented debt crisis: how it came to pass, why it threatens to topple the nation as a superpower, and what needs to be done about it. With bracing clarity, White House Burning explains why the national debt matters to your everyday life. Simon Johnson and James Kwak describe how the government has been able to pay off its debt in the past, even after the massive deficits incurred as a result of World War II, and analyze why this is near-impossible today. They closely examine, among other factors, macroeconomic shifts of the 1970s, Reaganism and the rise of conservatism, and demographic changes that led to the growth of major—and extremely popular—social insurance programs. What is unquestionably clear is how recent financial turmoil exacerbated the debt crisis while creating a political climate in which it is even more difficult to solve.

Author : Robert Eisner
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 27,4 MB
Release : 2010-05-11
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1439138591

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Eisner argues that the federal deficit as currently measured is inaccurate and misleading. When inflation is properly accounted for, he points out, a dramatically different picture of the deficit occurs. In light of these new deficit figures, Eisner challenges current eco nomic theory and interpretations of our recent past. He finds that the deficit has not been as large as recently measured and that efforts to reduce the deficit may do more harm than good. This book will spark serious debate among economists and policymakers. The clarity of its arguments and strength of its evidence are convincing. Strongly recommended for academic and large public libraries. Richard C. Schim ing, Economics Dept., Mankato State Univ., Minn. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Author : Frank N. Newman
Publisher : Hillcrest Publishing Group
Page : 105 pages
File Size : 39,68 MB
Release : 2013-05-02
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1626520380

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America is unjustly worried about "national debt," believing it can no longer do the many things that mark it as a great nation. Discussions of national undertakings including infrastructure repair, jobs programs, military modernization, and disease prevention - have all been stifled through fear of insolvency. America has convinced itself that it can no longer afford, as a nation, to do many of the productive things that it has done so well over its history. That's a great shame, because America remains a nation of tremendous resources in every sense, and the underlying assumptions about U.S. government financial instruments are not correct. America can never face the debt problems of nations like Greece, thanks to its fundamentally different financial system. This short book explains why such fears should not hold back America, and why even the expression "national debt" is neither meaningful nor appropriate for the United States.

Author : John Merrifield
Publisher : Cato Institute
Page : 590 pages
File Size : 15,52 MB
Release : 2020-10-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1948647893

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"'A Fiscal Cliff' is precisely the right book for perilous fiscal times. Giants in economics and public policy offer a spirited defense of fiscal rules critically needed to protect our children and grandchildren from a bleak future." -Richard K. Vedder, Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus, Ohio University/p> The unsustainable, and still rapidly growing, U.S. federal government debt is a classic case of ‘'in denial.” Indeed, we are no closer to a solution to the debt crisis than we were ten years ago when the Simpson-Bowles Commission issued a report with recommendations to address the nation's debt crisis. The bipartisan Commission fell short of the supermajority vote required to submit their recommendations to Congress. President Trump declared a debt crisis, but didn't act like it. Various commissions and think tanks have made numerous recommendations. In 2019, a Congressional Committee was appointed to recommend budget process reforms, but that Committee could not agree on any recommendations to submit to Congress. While the dominant sentiment is that maybe if we ignore it, it will just go away, the debt crisis will not just vanish. A Fiscal Cliff: New Perspectives on the U.S. Debt Crisis is a timely addition to a critical policy discussion.

Author : David Wessel
Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
Page : 178 pages
File Size : 37,47 MB
Release : 2015-11-24
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0815727062

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The underexamined art and science of managing the federal government's huge debt. Everyone talks about the size of the U.S. national debt, now at $13 trillion and climbing, but few talk about how the U.S. Treasury does the borrowing—even though it is one of the world's largest borrowers. Everyone from bond traders to the home-buying public is affected by the Treasury's decisions about whether to borrow short or long term and what types of bonds to sell to investors. What is the best way for the Treasury to finance the government's huge debt? Harvard's Robin Greenwood, Sam Hanson, Joshua Rudolph, and Larry Summers argue that the Treasury could save taxpayers money and help the economy by borrowing more short term and less long term. They also argue that the Treasury and the Federal Reserve made a huge mistake in recent years by rowing in opposite directions: while the Fed was buying long-term bonds to push investors into other assets, the Treasury was doing the opposite—selling investors more long-term bonds. This book includes responses from a variety of public and private sector experts on how the Treasury does its borrowing, some of whom have criticized the way the Treasury has been managing its borrowing.

Author : Carl Lane
Publisher : Westholme Publishing
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 19,62 MB
Release : 2014
Category : Debts, Public
ISBN : 9781594162091

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"When President James Monroe announced in his 1824 message to Congress that the [nation's] large public debt, [accumulated since the Revolution], would be extinguished on January 1, 1835, Congress crafted legislation to transform that prediction into reality. Yet John Quincy Adams, Monroe's successor, seemed not to share the commitment to debt freedom, resulting in the rise of opposition to his administration and his defeat for reelection in the bitter presidential campaign of 1828. The new president, Andrew Jackson, was thoroughly committed to debt freedom, and when it was achieved, it became the only time in American history when the country carried no national debt. Lane shows that the great and disparate issues that confronted Jackson, such as internal improvements, the 'war' against the Second Bank of the United States, and the crisis surrounding South Carolina's refusal to pay federal tariffs, become unified when debt freedom is understood as a core element of Jacksonian Democracy."--

Author : Stephanie Kelton
Publisher : PublicAffairs
Page : 311 pages
File Size : 20,53 MB
Release : 2020-06-09
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1541736206

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A New York Times Bestseller The leading thinker and most visible public advocate of modern monetary theory -- the freshest and most important idea about economics in decades -- delivers a radically different, bold, new understanding for how to build a just and prosperous society. Stephanie Kelton's brilliant exploration of modern monetary theory (MMT) dramatically changes our understanding of how we can best deal with crucial issues ranging from poverty and inequality to creating jobs, expanding health care coverage, climate change, and building resilient infrastructure. Any ambitious proposal, however, inevitably runs into the buzz saw of how to find the money to pay for it, rooted in myths about deficits that are hobbling us as a country. Kelton busts through the myths that prevent us from taking action: that the federal government should budget like a household, that deficits will harm the next generation, crowd out private investment, and undermine long-term growth, and that entitlements are propelling us toward a grave fiscal crisis. MMT, as Kelton shows, shifts the terrain from narrow budgetary questions to one of broader economic and social benefits. With its important new ways of understanding money, taxes, and the critical role of deficit spending, MMT redefines how to responsibly use our resources so that we can maximize our potential as a society. MMT gives us the power to imagine a new politics and a new economy and move from a narrative of scarcity to one of opportunity.

Author : United States. General Accounting Office
Publisher :
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 26,65 MB
Release : 1996
Category : Budget deficits
ISBN :

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Articles, reports, and books on the federal debt and its effects tend to be complex and technical. As a result, the public frequently misunderstands these issues. For example, people often forget that even if Congress and the President agree to balance the annual budget within the next several years, the federal debt will continue to grow until balance is actually achieved. Although declining deficits and, ultimately, balanced budgets could reduce the debt as a share of the economy, the debt will not decline unless there is a budget surplus. This document responds to frequently asked questions about the federal debt, deficits, and interest rates. GAO organizes these questions into three sections: (1) trends in the federal debt, deficits, and interest; (2) sales and ownership of federal debt; and (3) effects of the federal debt. For readers who are interested in more detailed information on these topics, GAO includes a short bibliography.