Americas Debt and Budget Deficit

Americas Debt and Budget Deficit Americas Debt and Budget Deficit Home›Economics Posts›Americas Debt and Budget Deficit Economics PostsIntroductionThe American debt and budget deficit problems have been on the increase for several years now. In 1992, the national debt stood at $4 trillion, which represented a 64% of the annual Gross Domestic Product. Over the next eight years, the debt was managed and reduced to 56% of the budget. However, it has swollen since then. The current American debt as at today stands at 14,350,296,997,143, which is slightly above 100% of the annual Gross Domestic Product. America has an estimated population of 310,677, 986 which means that every citizen in America shares $ 46,190.17 of the public debt. The means that the national debt continues to grow averagely at $ 3.98 billions per day since 2007.It is predicted that the deficit will continue to grow over the next few years with estimates being $50 trillion by 2030. This represents 140% of the Annual Gross Domestic Product. As the debt ratios continue to rise, the creditors will continue demanding higher interests rates to finance the debt. This, in turn, means that the deficit will continue to get larger and larger, which will force the United States to default its payment. In the light of these facts, I hold that Americas debt is growing to be unmanageable and that it is unsustainable.AnalysisCauses of the increase in the American’s debt.To be able to understand what causes the uprising American debt, it is important to understand what the composition of the debt. The national debt is the amount of money the federal government owes to the public and other agencies. The federal deficit can also be used to explain the national debt, where the expenditure of the states exceeds the revenues. The national comprises of all the debts throughout the history of America plus the interests due from such debts. The state owes the Federal Reserve about forty percent of the total debt, while the remaining amount is owe d to individuals, corporations and foreign governments. This situation is deteriorating by day as the crisis facing the world markets today demand more future borrowing; this means that the debt will continue to grow at a greater rate than the economy (Fink High 18).Knowledge and awareness of the national debt and budget deficit is very crucial for various reasons. One, the national debt is very expensive; the cost of borrowing of these funds is very high. Currently America appends over 900 billion each year in interest payment alone. Secondly, the big national debts cripple the development of the economy. The money given by the public as a loan to finance public social programs would have been used in most productive economic activities. Thirdly, increasing debts means that the government is relying heavily on foreign debts in paying its bills. The gives the individual foreign countries like China and Japan leverage in negotiations with America.Such leverage maybe harmful to the s trategic and competitive interests of America.  Fourthly, the over-reliance on public debt sends signals to market that America has become a risky borrower. This way, the buyers of the bonds will start demanding greater interest rates, to compensate them, in the event that the principal loan is not paid. The other concern facing increased national debt is inflation. For the government to manage the debt, it may cut on expenditure of increase or apply both mechanisms (Konigsberg 94). These policies are not very popular, and the government may result in monetising the debt. The government prints new money to repay the debt. This will result in high levels of inflations, which will affect the value of the dollar.America has had debts since its inception. These debts have continued to accumulate making it so large today. Over the years that American government cut down on taxes and increased its public spending resulting to a more increase in the public debts. The economy and the holde rs of the debt benefit in the short term. The holders enjoy high interest rates to compensate the risks that they will not be paid in the long run. The economy, on the other hand, benefits in the sense that there are funds available for spending. However, this loan and the interest rates on the loans becomes a burden as the government will have to repay the debt eventually (Harrison Dye 101).One of the causes of the increasing debt levels is through budget deficits. This happens when the government exceeds expenses over the revenues it collects from taxes and other revenues over a one year period of time. Each annual deficit is added back to the accumulated debts. When this happens, the government issues debt to cover up the difference. The debt comes in the form of bonds where individuals, corporations and the Federal Reserve buy. The government also loans itself some money through The Social Security Trust Fund. The result of this is increasing the national debt levels.The second cause of increase in the national debt is the increased government expenditure in social programs. This represents the amount of money the government puts aside for public expenditure. This spending is financed either by taxation or by borrowing. CBO projects that public expenditure will double in the next few years to account for over 40% of the GDP. This means that the government will require additional funds. More funds can only be made available through increased taxation or borrowing. This will cripple the American economy and destroy its international competitiveness.The other cause of the increasing debt in America is the Afghan and the Iraq wars. The two wars are estimated to cost the government $ 2.4 to $ 3.5 trillion. The CBO estimates that the war will cost $ 2.4 trillion by the time the war is expected to end by 2017. The democrats on the JEC (Joint Economic Committee) estimate that the war will cost 3.5 billion. This has a very great impact on the national debt. There is no doubt that the war increased the national debt substantially. For the first time, United States cut taxes as it started this war. This meant that the war was fully funded through borrowing.The government has been issuing bonds to be able to finance the war. It has also issued credit cards to China and other foreign buyers to be able to finance the costs of the war. The US debt increased from 6.4 trillion in 2003 to 10 trillion in 2008; a quarter of which is directly attributable to the war. This is exclusive of the future health costs for the disabled veterans of the war, which is likely to add an extra half a trillion to the debt. This is accompanied by very high interest rates; the interest factor comprises of almost 70% of the total amounts borrowed by the government, which continues to increase the national debt immensely. This makes the levels of the debt to be unmanageable and unsustainable. More debts continue to accumulate on every citizen without clear ways on how the debts will be paid. Critics of the war argue that the costs amounting from the war will continue to be passed on the coming generations, who had little to do with the start of the war. However, they have to pay for the debts borrowed today (Bardes 87).The other cause of the ever increasing national debt is the increased expenditure on healthcare, especially Medicaid and Medicare. Medicare is an insurance program for the elderly people aged from 65 years old. Taxpayers cover this insurance, which is usually branded as the health insurance for the poor. Medicare and Medicaid take up to 19% of the federal budget. The government also subsidises the costs of efficient and effective medicines to make them affordable to the poor. The effect of these policies is that they encourage early retirement and fewer saving on medical expenses. In addition, it encourages the over-utilisation of the health facilities. The extra demand resulting from this insurance forces the government to dedicate m ore resources to the health care. This has resulted in increased costs of healthcare. In the face of increased economic hardships, the government seeks foreign funds to take care of the health care. This, in turn, continues to swell the national debt to unmanageable levels.SolutionsTo be able to control the rise in the national debt and budget deficit, the government will have to increase the taxation levels or reduce on public expenditure. As the national debts increases, so does the interest rates payable on these loans. To be able to pay these interest rates, the government and the policy makers will have to increase the amount of taxes charged on people’s incomes. The extra revenues from the taxes would be used to repay the interests rates. However, economists argue that this is not a good way of managing the debts. This is because as more taxes are charged, people get discouraged to work and save resulting in decreased incomes and output. This will make the situation worse. T his is also opposed by the politicians, who fight for the rights of the citizens.To avoid the taxation problem, the government can embark on disinvestment policy, which entails reducing on its public spending, this way; the savings from the reduced funding will be used to pay the debts. This will entail some sacrifices by citizens so that in the future, the debt will be lower. The Keynesian economists hold that this is not a very good for the economy. This is because, when the government reduces spending, so does investments and consumption. This can only be applicable when the economy is near full employment. However, the current expenditure is greater than amounts necessary to maintain and support equitable citizens and an efficient financial system. The government should, therefore, cut on the current expenditure to repay the public debt and avoid it from increasing above the already high limits (Miron 78).The other solution to the national debt problem would be establishing a co nsolidated sinking fund, basically meant to repay the debts. This fund will enable the government to repay the debts instead of issuing new bonds to repay the existing debts. Normally, governments take up debts to repay the due loans. This means that there is a continuous vicious cycle where a debt is repaid using another debt, which means that in, essence, the debt was never paid. The consolidated fund will help to break this vicious cycle.ConclusionThe American debt has been increasing at an alarming rate in the last one decade. There are reasons why the amounts of the debt are going up so fast. First, the ongoing Iraq and Afghan wars are costing the government a lot of money, and thus the government is forced to take more debts to be able to finance the costs. An increase in public spending is another cause for increased debts and budget deficits. The spending is projected to double in the near future. However, these services do not bring in revenues, and so the government have t o seek other sources of finance to finance the debt. The government can raise funds through taxation or through borrowing. Since taxation is not popular with both the politicians and voters, then form of raising funds left is through borrowing, this continues to swell the national debts beyond manageable and sustainable levels (Baumol Blinder 64).The national debts and deficits have very great impacts on the economy of the United States of America. In the short run, the debts results in increased economic growth especially during recessions. Despite this, the long run effects of the debts are quite destructive to the economy. One of the harmful effects is the higher interests to be paid for such loans. This will reduce the amount of money available for the government to invest. Secondly, the American government may fall into the temptation of allowing the dollar value to fall, so it will be cheaper to pay the debts. In this case, foreign investors become reluctant in purchasing the US bonds pushing the interest rates much higher.Quick measures need to be taken to manage the current national debt and budget deficit conditions. However, any abrupt stop borrowing will push the value of the dollar down, push interest rates and inflation up, which would have a more harsh impact on the economy of America and the world at large. For this reason, the government needs to take swift measures to be able to manage the situation. First, the government can increase taxation levels on individuals and corporations. This will avail more revenues to repay the debt. Moreover, the government can cut on its public spending, so that the saved amounts of money can be used to repay the debt. The last option would be establishing a consolidated sinking fund, which will help to break the vicious cycle of borrowing. These measures will help to improve and reduce the national debt levels into manageable and sustainable levels.

How a Ruler Ought to Govern His State Essay - 1019 Words

Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) was an Italian scholar, poet, and early humanist during the reformation of the Renaissance period. He was one of the greatest poets of the 14th-16th century, and is regarded as the father of the humanist movement. Petrarch was a prolific writer. Not only was he known for poetry in Italian and Latin, but also hundreds of letters, essays and histories. Like Dante, a generation before Petrarch wrote in a vernacular style to bring Italian a literary language. In this letter, Petrarch offers advice on how to rule as an effective leader. He uses various examples and sources to support his theories of how a good ruler should rule by laying out a good model. Petrarch emphasizes the first quality of a good†¦show more content†¦Petrarch is a writer of great knowledge with a desire of theology and politics, as so many before him, while keeping the words and acts of humanism to be held sacred and gifts of our Heavenly Judge. He was a teacher of kno wledge, sobriety, and humbleness. With the aid from the philosophies of Aristotle, Petrarch wrote with finesse and poise, which Petrarch only new in the Latin language, his driven thoughts in relation to that of Cicero, a roman poet and politician that died years before Petrarch was born, Petrarch was considered to be one of these learned men as so many others. He was patronized by the wealthy due to his style and ability to write with such power and grace. He refers constantly other great poets such as Euripides and biblical characters, such as, Jeremiah. All these display an attitude towards learning and kindness. The Renaissance man can be described as a modern scholar that acquires leaning and is knowledgeable in several areas of science, literature, art, and government, also one that maintain good standings, display good citizenship with his surroundings and others. Petrarch distributed all these in by way of his writings. 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The Ethics Behind The Medical Setting - 3207 Words

The Ethics Behind the Use of Restraints in the Medical Setting Margaret Correia Simmons College Introduction In today’s health care industry, mechanical restraints are often used to maintain patients’ behavior and ensure their safety when treating the elderly and the severely ill (Gatsmans Milisen, 2006). There are many variations of mechanical restraints, but all are defined as â€Å"any device, material or equipment attached to or near a person s body and which cannot be controlled or easily removed by the person and which deliberately prevents or is deliberately intended to prevent a person s free body movement to a position of choice and/or a person s normal access to their body† (Gatsmans Milisen, 2006, p.†¦show more content†¦The purpose of the current paper is to identify the risks and benefits of performing restraints on individuals in the medical field and to assess the benefits and risks to determine whether or not the use of restraints is ethical. Benefits of Using Mechanical Restraints In the medical setting, mechanical restraints are used for â€Å"therapeutic purposes,† in order to â€Å"protect a patient from harm† (Moss La Puma, 1991, p. 22). Restraints are used in order to allow medical staff to provide continuous medical care, protect patients from accidental injury, and protect staff and other patients from harm ((Mion, Minnick, Leipzig, Catrambone Johnson, 2007; Perkins, Prosser, Riley Whittington, 2012; Barazovski Rosin, 1997; Tromp, Pluijm, Smit, Deeg, Bouter Lips, 2001; Carpenter, Avidan, Wildes, Stark, Fowler Lo, 2014). Providing Continuous Medical Care One of the benefits of using mechanical restraints is that they can effectively prevent patients from interfering with medical care. Restraints are used for this purpose in both nursing homes and in intensive care units, and are effective in eliminating instances of accidental removal of medical devices such as

Sequencing Objectives Free Essays

Sequencing objectives within classes and courses within curriculum is important because much of what we learn is developed through building blocks of knowledge. For example, In my current field, one must know medical terminology and anatomy and physiology In order to begin a coding class. If one does not know where the perform sinus Is In the human body, one cannot assign â€Å"history of perform sinus cancer† the correct V-code. We will write a custom essay sample on Sequencing Objectives or any similar topic only for you Order Now One would assume that since the word â€Å"sinus† Is In the phrase, the V-code would be included in the nasal cavity and sinus grouping. The horrify sinus is actually located in the pharynx; therefore, the V-code would be in the grouping with oral cavity and pharynx. Sequencing of the Course and Curriculum Regulate and Stein refer to macromolecule sequencing, giving the students an overview (epitome) that outlines the fundamental aspects of the course first. Instruction progresses with each Idea being more detailed and elaborating upon the previous one. Objectives are developed to Insure that prerequisite skills are covered before advancing to the next objective. Sequencing of Skills wealth the Topic Basic skills are taught first within each topic, building upon each other. Analyzing Topic Objectives to Determine Learning Outcomes This approach examines the relationship between the course map and the unit map. This approach looks at objectives from different learning domains and the relationship between each, sequencing to insure that prerequisite skills are covered in earlier lessons. Sequencing of Skills within Lessons This mapping Is more detailed oriented. Objectives are sequenced In more detail, broken down Into Individual skills required wealth the lesson presented. Learning Hierarchies and Instructional Sequence According to Eagan, when the proper sequence of prerequisite skills is established, intellectual skill instruction is easily managed by the teacher. Knowledge-Based Sequencing Instructional design is represented as organizational patterns on the concept map and then used during the development phase to automatically generate instructional maps. Sequencing Content for Online Learning This Involves sequencing knowledge units and learning tasks within those units. Spiral Sequencing of the curriculum. And example of this is in foreign language instruction. Basic grammar skills are revisited continually as the student progresses. How to cite Sequencing Objectives, Papers

Practice Essay Example

Practice Essay Can the frequency of cricket chirps be used to predict the outdoor temperature? According to one of the founding fathers of communications engineering, George Washington Pierce, the answer is yes. During his career, Pierce invented several pieces of technology that earned him patents and a lot of money from companies like RCA and ATT. When he retired, Pierce built a device that allowed him to record the sounds made by various insects near his New Hampshire home. In 1948, he published his research findings in a book titled The Songs of Insects. In this Activity, ou will examine data that Pierce collected on the number of chirps per second of the striped ground cricket and the outdoor temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. You will compose a Word document with the answers to each of the numbered questions below as well as your scatterplot with regression line. Cricket chirps per second Outdoor temperature (OF) 20. 0 88. 6 16. 0 71 . 6 19. 8 93. 3 18. 4 84. 3 17. 1 80. 6 15. 5 75. 2 14. 7 69. 7 82. 0 1 5. 4 69. 4 16. 2 83. 3 15. 0 79. 6 17. 2 82. 6 17. 0 83. 5 14. 4 76. 3 1. Enter the data into your MS Excel spreadsheet. Which is the explanatory variable? 2. Make a well-labeled scatterplot of the data. Describe the direction, form, and strength of the relationship. Are there any outliers? 3. Use MS Excel to find the least- squares regression line for these data. Record the equation, paying attention to precision. [After plotting the scatterplot, position cursor on one data point and right click. Choose Add Trendline, then select linear. Experiment with Chart Layouts to find regression equation. ] 4. Interpret the slope and the y-intercept of the least-squared line in this setting. 5. Use the equation to predict the temperature when there are 15 cricket chirps per second. Determine the value of the Correlation Coefficient. [Remember that the r is the square root of r2] Comment on how well the regression line fits the data. 7. Is it reasonable to use the equation to predict the temperature when there are 25 cricket chirps per second? Explain. 8. Crickets make their chirping sounds by rapidly rubbing their wings together. From Pierces data, we see that outdoor temperature increases as the number of cricket chirps increases. Can we conclude that the increased number of chirps causes the temperature to increase (maybe due to the heat generated from wings rubbing together)? Explain. We will write a custom essay sample on Practice specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Practice specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Practice specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Parents should not be informed that their teen is requesting abortion essays

Parents should not be informed that their teen is requesting abortion essays I feel that parents should not be informed that their teen is requesting an abortion because it will lead to more teenagers giving birth to unwanted children, unsafe and illegal abortions, infant abandonment, and even worse, infant murder. Within the past few years, infant killing by teenagers is on the rise. In one case, a teen hid her pregnancy and nine months later gave birth to the baby boy in the family basement. Afterward she placed the infant in a garbage bag, leaving him for dead. Admittingly, most teens will not resort to such drastic measures. However, the teen admitted that she was afraid to tell her mother because she claimed her mother told her after her first abortion the year prior, "This better not happen again." I feel the teen was placed in a desperate situation, not wishing to disappoint her family, particularily her mother after being warned, yet not fully understanding the devastating impact er actions would place on her and her family for the rest of their lives. Only when a teen stops denying the pregnancy can she confide in her parents. Even if a pregnant teen feels she has one supportive parent, many will still deny the pregnancy for a while. In an abortion procedure, timing is crucial, as most states have laws that ban abortioon after 22 weeks gestation, unless the mother's life is in danger. At least in a supportive environment, that is uncondidtional, non-threatening, the teen and parent/s can decide which is the better choice, given the circumstances. On the contrary, if the teen knows the news of her pregnancy will only bring verbal ridicule and harassment, and knows if she tries to obtain a legal abortion, her parents will be notified, this additional stress will only prolong the denial. This denial could go on throughtout the pregnancy, even throughout the birth process. The message this law sends is: A teenager can become a mother without parental notification, but she ca...

The Definition of Bivalve

The Definition of Bivalve A bivalve is an animal that has two hinged shells, which are called valves. All bivalves are mollusks.  Examples of bivalves are clams, mussels, oysters, and scallops. Bivalves are found in both freshwater and marine environments.   Characteristics of Bivalves There are about 10,000 species of bivalves.Bivalves range in size from less than a millimeter to close to 5 feet (e.g., the giant clam). A bivalves shell is formed of calcium carbonate that is secreted from the bivalves  mantle, which is the soft wall of the animals body. The shell grows as the organism inside gets bigger. Not all bivalves have externally visible shells - some are small, some are not even visible. Shipworms are a bivalve that doesnt have a very visible shell - their shell is made up of two valves at the worms anterior (back) end. Bivalves have a foot, but not an obvious head. They also dont have a radula or jaws. Some bivalves move around (e.g., scallops), some burrow  into the sediment (e.g., clams)  or even rocks, and some attach to hard substrates (e.g, mussels). Smallest and Largest Bivalves The smallest bivalve is thought to be the saltwater clam  Condylonucula maya. This species has a shell that is less than a millimeter in size. The largest bivalve is the giant clam. The valves of the clam may be over 4 feet long, and the clam itself may weigh over 500 pounds.    Bivalve Classification Bivalves are found in the  Phylum Mollusca, Class Bivalvia. Where Are Bivalves Found? Marine bivalves are found around the world, from polar regions to tropical waters and from shallow tide pools to deep-sea hydrothermal vents.   Feeding - Them and You Many bivalves feed by filter feeding, in which they draw water over their gills, and tiny organisms collect in the organisms gill mucus. The also breathe by drawing fresh oxygen from the water as it passes over their gills. When you eat a shelled bivalve, youre eating the body or a muscle inside.  When youre eating a scallop, for example, youre eating the adductor muscle. The adductor muscle is a round, meaty muscle that the scallop uses to open and close its shell. Reproduction Some bivalves have separate sexes, some are hermaphroditic (have male and female sex organs). In most cases, reproduction is sexual with external fertilization. The embryos develop in the water column and go through a larval stage before eventually developing their shell.   Human Uses Bivalves are some of the most important seafood species. Oysters, scallops, mussels, and clams are popular selections at just about every seafood restaurant. According to NOAA, the commercial value of bivalve harvests in 2011 was over $1 billion, just in the U.S.   This harvest weighed over 153 million pounds.   Bivalves are organisms particularly vulnerable to climate change and ocean acidification. Increasing acidity in the ocean is affecting the ability for bivalves to effectively build their calcium carbonate shells.   Bivalve Used in a Sentence The blue mussel is a bivalve - it has two equally-sized, hinged shells that fit together and enclose the animals soft body. References and Further Information Geller, J. B. 2007. Bivalves.  In  Encyclopedia of Tidepools and Rocky Shores. University of California Press, p. 95-102.Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Condylonucula maya D.R. Moore, 1977. Accessed December 30, 2015.Lindberg, D.R. 2007. Molluscs, Overview.  In  Encyclopedia of Tidepools and Rocky Shores. University of California Press, p. 374-376.Martinez, Andrew J. 2003.  Marine Life of the North Atlantic. Aqua Quest Publications, Inc.: New York.NOAA, National Ocean Service. What Is a Bivalve Mollusk?  Accessed December 30, 2015.