The Federal Deficit: the Causes and Alternative Solutions Essay

Words: 1932
Pages: 8
Open Document
The Federal Deficit: The Causes and Alternative Solutions
Why did the government have to borrow so much more in such a short time? Here, six factors that hit the nation's bottom line:
1. The Bush tax cuts
The biggest culprit? The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts under then-president George W. Bush, says the Associated Press. They have added an estimated $1.6 trillion to the national debt. It's pretty clear, says Brian Beutler at Talking Points Memo, that Bush-era policies, "particularly debt-financed tax cuts," make up "the lion's share of the problem." And they're ongoing, so the tab for them builds every year.
2. Health care entitlements
Democrats "constantly harp" about the Bush tax cuts, says Peter Morici at Seeking Alpha, but those rates …show more content…
Those deficits would push total debt held by the public to 77 percent of GDP by 2021.
Moreover, CBO's baseline projections are predicated on the assumption that many policies now in place are allowed to expire over the next decade, as scheduled under current law. Those expiring policies include the major reductions in individual income taxes originally enacted in 2001 and 2003 and recently extended through 2012, as well as the higher exemption amounts for the alternative minimum tax. If those policies and others were extended, budget deficits would be much larger than in that baseline.
Over the longer term, the continued aging of the population and growth in health care costs will almost certainly push up federal spending significantly relative to GDP under current law. Without changes in law, spending on Social Security and the government's major mandatory health care programs (Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and health insurance subsidies to be provided through insurance exchanges) will increase from roughly 10 percent of GDP today to about 16 percent over the next 25 years. If revenues stay close to their average share of GDP for the past 40
Show More

Related Documents: The Federal Deficit: the Causes and Alternative Solutions Essay

HIS204 Final Paper

Economic History 1 The Economic History in America Bianca Carroll HIS204 American History Instructor Macon November 4, 2013 Economic History 2…

Words 2267 - Pages 10

Renewable Sources In America

Merriam-Webster defines the word green in eighteen ways. The final definition on the page is "tending to preserve environmental quality." However, the placement of the definition does not represent its importance. Now, more than ever, Americans must be green and strive to preserve environmental quality. Unfortunately, energy production in America is largely not green. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, renewable sources generated only about 15% of the electricity in the United…

Words 1745 - Pages 7

Essay on O' Reilly Case

MINA O’REILLY AT LOGAN AIRPORT’S TSA HARVARD BUSINESS CASE 9-409-116 Introduction & Background Analysis This paper provides a case study analysis and case solution to an organizational behavior and leadership Harvard Business School case study by Michel Anteby and Erin McFee concerning the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at Boston’s Logan Airport (Anteby & McFee, 2009). The case focuses on supervisor and managerial responses to a Transportation Security Officer’s (TSO) role in…

Words 3541 - Pages 15

Canada's Health Care System Essay

privately-provided, universal, comprehensive, affordable, single-payer, provincially administered national health care system” (Bernard, 1992, p.103). Health care in Canada is provincial responsibility, with the Canada Health act being a federal legislation (Bernard, 1992, p. 102). Federal budget cuts, has caused various problems within Medicare such as increased waiting times and lack of new technology. Another problem with Medicare is that The Canada Heath Act does not cover expenditures for prescriptions drugs…

Words 4022 - Pages 17

Idiot Nation, Michael Moore, Critical Essay Critique

Moore works to paint a picture of horrible learning conditions created by funding deficits and incomprehensible teaching situations that leads to schools having to get creative with alternative funding, which is not always ideal for the students. American Corporations not only have made America thrive but they have shown their willingness to jump in and lend a hand to schools as Moore…

Words 1271 - Pages 6

Assembling Your Policy Brief

health reform legislation the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the health care and Education Reconciliation 2010 Act (www.crs.gov). Jointly referred to as PPACA, the law increases access to health insurance coverage, increase federal private health insurance market requirement and requires the foundation of health insurance interchange to provide individuals and small employers with access to insurance (www.crs.gov[->0]). The PPACA upsurges admission to health insurance coverage…

Words 2232 - Pages 9

Marketing on Las Vegas Essay

Assumptions……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………9 Central Problem……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11 Evaluative Criteria…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13 Alternatives……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………15 Analysis of Alternatives…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………21 Decision and Justification………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………24 Implementation……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………25…

Words 4182 - Pages 17

President Franklin D. Roosevelt And President William Clinton

advisors that were knowledgeable which provided him with numerous options to pursue his solution. (Balilies,1). As soon as the economy deteriorated, President Roosevelt persuaded Congress to formulate numerous bills to design the end to the economic crisis. This time period was known as the “Hundred Days” which he also desired to build partnerships between businesses and government to save the economy. Balancing the federal budget was one specific goal Roosevelt and Clinton achieved during their presidential…

Words 2458 - Pages 10

Food Stamp Revision Policy Proposal

beneath the poverty level to obtain adequate nutrition. Although adults without children are eligible for food stamps, more than half of food stamp recipients are children. In 2002, more than $18.2 billion was paid out in food stamps (Moore 2010). The federal government covers most of the cost, but state and local governments contribute funding as well. This paper seeks to lay out some of the problems associated with the current Food Stamp Program and suggest policies that could be emplaced to better the…

Words 4190 - Pages 17

Slater Collective Bargaining Essay

decades, and they have set off a political firestorm. This brief will argue that these attacks are deeply misguided. They serve no purpose beyond a partisan attempt to weaken a key supporter of the Democratic party and they do not address budget deficits. Instead, they take away a core right that has been recognized in the vast majority of the United States for up to half a century, a right that is considered fundamental in much of the industrialized world, a right that helps individual teachers…

Words 9026 - Pages 37