After thorough consultation with colleges it is my opinion that the appropriate response during this economic downturn is to take an expansionary fiscal policy approach, and to encourage the FED to consider appropriate expansionary monetary measures as well. Though there have been suggestions to increase interest rates and lower government spending, such actions would further stagnate any economic growth. It is the lack of public spending and loss of jobs that have set such an economical ambience. To increase taxes at this time would further diminish the public’s available spending power, and a cut in government spending would take a negative effect in the current job market. It is then in my opinion that the president along with congress increase government spending, and lower current tax rates. It is may also be of importance to consider stimulus measures such as tax credits to increase the available spending power to the public.…
The concern is that we as a nation have not fully recovered from the meltdown in 2006. Prices of goods and services continue to rise and people are not able to afford food, electricity, gas, and rent, water the basics of life which lead to a shift of poor, middle-class and then the rich, now it’s the poor and the rich. Right now there different types of public services being offered if makes it not as visible to those that are not receiving the…
Deficit spending is a government action in which the amount of its expenditures exceeds that of its revenues. In other words, the government spends more money than it receives from its citizens through taxation. While such spending is generally considered necessary in turbulent economic times, recent annual trillion dollar deficits are alarming to say the least. To be sure, continued deficit spending threatens the very fiscal solvency of this country. Though it is reasonable to assume that both Democrats and Republicans agree as to its danger, there has been little agreement between them on how to implement a plan to reduce the deficit. Democrats by and large agree that a deficit reduction plan needs to include increased revenues, i.e. taxes. Republicans insist that the size of government should decrease, i.e. cut taxes. Despite the political volatility these two opposing ideas create, I believe that there is a way in which to do both. The question of deficit reduction then is: What is the most effective way in which to raise revenues and cut taxes?…
The United States deficit, surplus, and debt will always have an impact on taxpayers. In the state of high deficit the government seeks ways to cut and save money for debt payment. The government does this by pulling funding from programs that have little government impact. Increasing taxes also supplies the government with extra income. In addition to the reduction or elimination of certain tax credits, the government analyzes school funding for cost effectiveness. Each step the government takes has a trickling effect on taxpayer’s dollar.…
The majority of debt can be blamed on poor decisions by Congress. Many of their choices are meant to help the American people and to keep them safe, but in reality they often do the opposite. For example, welfare programs were initially created to help citizens going through financial troubles. Instead, they have became a crutch for people who simply don’t want to work. The total amount of money spent on these eighty-three welfare programs accounts for an expenditure of over $1 trillion annually (“CRS”). Some states give more money to welfare-receiving citizens than a $12 per hour job. Some people are able to live off of this money and, therefore, have no reason to look for a job and pay taxes. Another major factor in the national debt are the overseas affairs, mainly the war in the Middle East. The cost of training one soldier is expensive and keeping them in combat can cost anywhere from $850,000 to $1,400,000 per year (“One”). With 2.5 million U.S. Soldiers having served in Iraq and Afghanistan, this has added up to trillions spent on soldiers. These costs don’t account for how much money it takes to transport items. Even the most elementary items like fuel for air-conditioning can cost more than $20 billion per year to reach some isolated areas (“Among”). A third major cause of the debt are Obama’s stimulus packages. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 cost $825 billion, yet nearly 2.5 million jobs were lost within the next two and a half years (“Doubling”). In…
The first part of our economic policy is to raise taxes and decrease government spending. We will raise increase the income tax for those making more than $200,000 by 10%, and the income tax on those making between $150,00 and $200,000 annually by 5%. We will also put a $0.39 tax on cigarettes. The tax on cigarettes will not only increase the government’s revenue; it will also discourage the American people from partaking in such a dangerous habit. We will decrease government spending by getting rid of the US penny. We waste around $120 million per year producing pennies. This will increase government revenue and take some extra money out of the economy, causing prices to fall. This will also cause the government budget to become a surplus. This will decrease the demand for loanable funds, decreasing interest rates. Unfortunately, this will result in a phenomenon known as crowding in. When crowding in occurs, the government borrows less money and as a result, private investment increases. Because private investment…
Money seems to be the root of the problems that surround us in our daily lives. Depending on how much we earn from employment that number is concentrated on our social class in society. However, regardless of our social class we all pay a form of federal tax. Federal tax is a tax levied by the United States Internal Revenue Service on yearly earnings of employees, corporations, trusts, and other legal entities. These taxes that are collected contribute to approximately 47 percent of the federal government’s revenue. This money subsidizes national defense and funds federal programs such as welfare and infrastructure. A percentage of our income is taxed according to the amount we earn; it varies from ten percent when making zero to 20,000 dollars to 30 percent when making 50,000 dollars and above. The controversy of eradicating federal income tax involves all American residents…
The way that the American Government spends its money is very important. Also the government must remember the Preamble goals when creating the Federal Budget. The Preamble established five purposes of the Constitution: establishing Justice, insuring Domestic Tranquility, providing Common Defense, promoting the general welfare of citizens, and securing the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity. After evaluating the federal budget, it is evident that the budget is split into three clusters: the Big Five, the Middle Five, and the Little Guys.…
Of the three, the last one may be the most susceptible to the influence of policymakers. The larger the capital stock, the more productive the labor force tends to be.…
Each year the government spends countless amounts of money on things that could ultimately be put toward the debt we owe. The estimated amount of debt as of now is about $17,237,634,587,000. Some ways that you could reduce government spending is mandate a policy that would take $10 yearly for every person in a house hold. Another would be to cut out all the useless spending. You could eliminate all pensions and benefits for Senators, Congress people, and Presidents after they leave office. Make all government benefit programs time-capped. Cut pay and benefits for military & Pentagon personnel that never serve outside the country or near a combat zone.…
Well first of all, deficit spending is an issue that the US has. Deficit spending is when the government spends more money than they earn. If the government isn’t making enough money, they shouldn’t be spending it on stuff the country might not even need. In the article “U.S. National Debt Hits $17 Trillion: How Did We Get Here?” it says, “A government that relies upon deficit spending to grow its economy is like a man who pays for his groceries and his rent with a credit card.” The article is talking about the US. They are saying that the US relies on deficit spending like a man pays for everything with a credit card. Meaning that they are both in debt always. With the US relying on deficit spending every time we need something that cost a lot, that puts the country is so much debt. If you think about it, the government can’t just use…
Along with solving the deficit comes into play the amount of people who actually pay taxes.…
As we discussed and read about this week in our class, the topic of the US Budget and how, why and what should we do about it has become a topic with many views and opinions. The United States of America currently holds over 16 Trillion dollars in debt based on our governments spending practices for the last ten years. Two wars, numerous fiscal collapses and cliffs, a bubble popped housing market, looming medical care costs from a socialized healthcare law and a recession have caused the government to acquire enormous amounts of debt. This debt with caused by what seems to be from irresponsible spending on both the Legislative and the Executive Branches have done nothing to lessen this deficit. One idea that has been discussed not only in Congress, but on prime time news networks is the passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment. A Balance Budget Amendment (as recently seen in House Bill HJR2, 28 NOV 2011) would require that Congress balance its budget every fiscal year unless a three-fifths majority of both houses approved of maintaining a deficit[1]. In a CNN Poll, conducted by ORC International, 74% of Americans surveyed would be in favor of a constitutional amendment to require a Balanced federal budget. So, why did it miss passing by the House of Representatives 23 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed? In the graph we see that federal debt will remain above 73 percent of GDP, far higher than the the 39 percent seen over the last four decades as stated by the Congressional Budget Office. This level is of debt is unsustainable to the our economy and a Balanced Budget Amendment may be the answer to get wasteful spending under control and reduce out national debt.…
If we are going to limit spending, military spending is a prefect place to start. We are spending tremendous amount of money on the military. Over the decade we have spend over $700 billion a year on our military. US military spending is six times greater than China's and eleven times greater than Russia's. The money use to send soldiers to war can be reduce and used to pay off the national debt. If money is spent less on the military it can be used on education and it can help reduce deficits. Many people may say cutting military spending can lose a lot of jobs and we won't have good security because of the lack of equipment. It may not provide the best security we need and we may lose jobs but it can provide other things for us like more convenient security checks at airports. The money saved can be used to pay of the national debt and could be spent on roads,hospitals,schools, and etc.…
The constant expenditure of the government even with the deficit is astonishing. “The refusal of many federal employees to fly coach costs taxpayers $146 million annually in flight upgrades” (Heritage.org), is a prime example of unnecessary spending. “Among the abuses was a Defense Department employee who spent more than $100,000 on 15 premium tickets citing a medical condition that required the upgrade” (usatoday.com) that's an incident that took place in 2007, yet events similar to this are still prevalent today. Furthermore “The Conservation Reserve program pays farmers $2 billion annually not to farm their land” (Heritage.org) That amount of money to be spent on such an asinine reason illustrates the truth in Thoreau’s assertion. Some would argue that the spending being done by the government fuels the economy and even creates jobs. That maybe true in some instances, for example the military industrial complex or public works projects however most of the unnecessary spending seen is truly unnecessary and it doesn't help…