Wednesday, February 13, 2019
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| Treasury Department reports that national debt hits $22.012 trillion, which experts say is a sign of the country's "unsustainable" fiscal situation. |
According to the U.S National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. President Barack Obama was sworn in on January 20, 2009, so it had already started before he entered office.
The first thing you notice when looking at the federal deficits from fiscal 2007 (the U.S. government fiscal year ends in September) is that it increased by almost $1 trillion from fiscal 2008 (two months before Obama was elected and four months before he was sworn in) to fiscal 2009. It remained over $1 trillion per year for four years and got below Bush’s last years deficit in fiscal 2015. It continued to decrease until Obama’s last year and has increased in Trump’s first year in office.
- Fiscal 2007: $161 billion (next to last year of Bush’s second term)
- Fiscal 2008: $459 billion (beginning impact from the Great Recession)
- Fiscal 2009: $1.4 trillion (Obama’s first year and in the teeth of the Recession)
- Fiscal 2010: $1.3 trillion
- Fiscal 2011: $1.3 trillion
- Fiscal 2012: $1.1 trillion
- Fiscal 2013: $680 billion
- Fiscal 2014: $485 billion
- Fiscal 2015: $438 billion
- Fiscal 2016: $587 billion
- Fiscal 2017: $666 billion (Trump’s first year of his Presidency)
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It is clear that the almost $1 trillion jump between fiscal 2008 and 2009 was due to the Great Recession. Tax receipts fell, expenditures rose and Obama and Congress passed the American Economy and Reinvestment Act to combat the recession.
https://news.yahoo.com/national-debt-tops-22-trillion-214033190.html
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National debt tops $22 trillion for the first time as experts warn of ripple effects
WASHINGTON – The national debt surpassed $22 trillion for the first time on Tuesday, a milestone that experts warned is further proof the country is on an unsustainable financial path that could jeopardize the economic security of every American.
The Treasury Department reported the debt hit $22.012 trillion, a jump of more than $30 billion in just this month.
The national debt has been rising at a faster rate following the passage of President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax-cut package a little more than a year ago and as the result of congressional efforts to increase spending on domestic and military programs. The nation has added more than $1 trillion in debt in the last 11 months alone.
“Reaching this unfortunate milestone so rapidly is the latest sign that our fiscal situation is not only unsustainable but accelerating,” said Michael A. Peterson, chief executive officer of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a nonpartisan organization working to address the country’s long-term fiscal challenges.
For Americans, the growing debt should be a concern, experts said, because over time it can push up interest rates for consumers and businesses. The higher rates can ripple through the economy, nudging up rates for mortgages, corporate bonds and other types of consumer and business loans.
A big national debt can also make it harder for the government to increase spending to combat the next recession or devote more money to retraining workers and helping the poor, among other programs.
Peterson attributed the growing national debt to "a structural mismatch between spending and revenues." The biggest drivers are the aging population, high healthcare costs, and growing interest payments, combined with a tax code that fails to generate sufficient revenue, he said.
The debt eclipsing $22 trillion “is another sad reminder of the inexcusable tab our nation’s leaders continue to run up and will leave for the next generation,” said Judd Gregg and Edward Rendell, co-chairmen of the nonpartisan Campaign to Fix the Debt, a project of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
With deficits rising and gross debt scheduled to jump by more than $1 trillion annually, Congress must take action to put the country on a more sustainable path, Gregg and Rendell said.
“The fiscal recklessness over the past years has been shocking, with few willing to step up with a real plan,” they said. “We need responsible leadership to fix the debt, not a worsening of partisanship.”
Contributing: Paul Davidson
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: National debt tops $22 trillion for the first time as experts warn of ripple effects
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Hạnh Dương
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