CHECK OUT THE DEBT CLOCK: http://www.usdebtclock.org/
As Romney attacked Obama on America's debt crises during the debate last night and also chided China for owning too much of America, I decided to compile a brief synopsis of U.S. debt which has escalated as a result of wars, lower tax rates, and global financial crisis. It must be realized that debt only becomes a problem when it is not properly managed or the owners of it decide to call in their debts. Threatening debt holders is not a good option.
Except for about a year during 1835–1836, the United States has continuously held a public debt since the U.S. Constitution legally went into effect in 1789.
Debt due to the American Revolutionary War amounted to $75,463,476.52 on January 1, 1791. During the Civil War, debt was $65 million in 1860, passed $1 billion in 1863, and reached $2.7 billion by the end of the war. Debt increased again during World War I, reaching $25.5 billion at its conclusion.
The buildup and involvement in World War II caused debt to reach $251.43 billion or 112.% of GDP by 1945.
Under Reagan's lowered tax rates and increased military spending, debt as a share of GDP increased from 26.2% in 1980 to 40.9% in 1988, and continued to rise during the presidency of Bush I, reaching 48.3% of GDP in 1992.
Debt held by the public reached 49.5% of GDP at the beginning of Clinton's first term but fell to 34.5% of GDP by the end of his presidency due in part to decreased military spending, increased taxes, and increased tax revenue resulting from the Dot-com bubble. Budget controls instituted in the 1990s successfully restrained fiscal action by the Congress and the President and together with economic growth contributed to the budget surpluses at the end of the decade.
In the early 21st century, debt relative to GDP rose again due in part to Bush tax cuts and increased military spending caused by the wars in the Middle East. During the Bush presidency, debt held by the public increased from $3.339 trillion in September 2001 to $6.369 trillion by the end of 2008. In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, debt held by the public increased to $11.12 trillion by the end of July 2012 under President Obama.
Causes of the Global Financial Crisis were the threat of total collapse of large financial institutions, bank bailouts by national governments, and downturns in stock markets around the world. The bursting of the U.S. housing bubble which peaked in 2006 caused the values of securities tied to U.S. real estate pricing to plummet, damaging financial institutions globally.
As on 15 October 2012, debt held by the public was approximately $11.344 trillion. Intra-governmental holdings stood at $4.847 trillion, giving a combined total public debt of $16.191 trillion (103.8% of GDP.) As of July 2012, $5.3 trillion or approximately 48% of the debt held by the public was owned by foreign investors, the largest of which were China and Japan at just over $1.1 trillion each.
Today, the U.S. national debt is $16.2 trillion, and the total debit is $58.5 trillion. Total national assets, however, are $87.4 trillion. (Figures from US Debt Clock.org.)
How could the U.S. bring down debt? Curtail military spending, raise taxes by reforming the tax code, cut spending, encourage investment in U.S. bonds, protect seniors from poverty by reforming Medicaid/Medicare/Social Security, invest in human and physical capital (education) to promote long term economic growth, create jobs, protect the middle class, increase green energy, stop bank bailouts, reduce health care costs, and /or have some of debts forgiven.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%932012_global_financial_crisis
As Romney attacked Obama on America's debt crises during the debate last night and also chided China for owning too much of America, I decided to compile a brief synopsis of U.S. debt which has escalated as a result of wars, lower tax rates, and global financial crisis. It must be realized that debt only becomes a problem when it is not properly managed or the owners of it decide to call in their debts. Threatening debt holders is not a good option.
Except for about a year during 1835–1836, the United States has continuously held a public debt since the U.S. Constitution legally went into effect in 1789.
Debt due to the American Revolutionary War amounted to $75,463,476.52 on January 1, 1791. During the Civil War, debt was $65 million in 1860, passed $1 billion in 1863, and reached $2.7 billion by the end of the war. Debt increased again during World War I, reaching $25.5 billion at its conclusion.
The buildup and involvement in World War II caused debt to reach $251.43 billion or 112.% of GDP by 1945.
Under Reagan's lowered tax rates and increased military spending, debt as a share of GDP increased from 26.2% in 1980 to 40.9% in 1988, and continued to rise during the presidency of Bush I, reaching 48.3% of GDP in 1992.
Debt held by the public reached 49.5% of GDP at the beginning of Clinton's first term but fell to 34.5% of GDP by the end of his presidency due in part to decreased military spending, increased taxes, and increased tax revenue resulting from the Dot-com bubble. Budget controls instituted in the 1990s successfully restrained fiscal action by the Congress and the President and together with economic growth contributed to the budget surpluses at the end of the decade.
In the early 21st century, debt relative to GDP rose again due in part to Bush tax cuts and increased military spending caused by the wars in the Middle East. During the Bush presidency, debt held by the public increased from $3.339 trillion in September 2001 to $6.369 trillion by the end of 2008. In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, debt held by the public increased to $11.12 trillion by the end of July 2012 under President Obama.
Causes of the Global Financial Crisis were the threat of total collapse of large financial institutions, bank bailouts by national governments, and downturns in stock markets around the world. The bursting of the U.S. housing bubble which peaked in 2006 caused the values of securities tied to U.S. real estate pricing to plummet, damaging financial institutions globally.
As on 15 October 2012, debt held by the public was approximately $11.344 trillion. Intra-governmental holdings stood at $4.847 trillion, giving a combined total public debt of $16.191 trillion (103.8% of GDP.) As of July 2012, $5.3 trillion or approximately 48% of the debt held by the public was owned by foreign investors, the largest of which were China and Japan at just over $1.1 trillion each.
Today, the U.S. national debt is $16.2 trillion, and the total debit is $58.5 trillion. Total national assets, however, are $87.4 trillion. (Figures from US Debt Clock.org.)
How could the U.S. bring down debt? Curtail military spending, raise taxes by reforming the tax code, cut spending, encourage investment in U.S. bonds, protect seniors from poverty by reforming Medicaid/Medicare/Social Security, invest in human and physical capital (education) to promote long term economic growth, create jobs, protect the middle class, increase green energy, stop bank bailouts, reduce health care costs, and /or have some of debts forgiven.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%932012_global_financial_crisis
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