The US national debt is the amount that the federal government owes. In a nutshell, it is the net summation of the national government’s budget deficit to the taxpayers. Some of the forms in which the budget deficit comes about include through the government borrowings from global organizations like the World Bank or other private financial bodies and the future expenses like the payments of pensions. Studies show that the US national debt has been increasing consistently for about two decades now. Currently, the US national debt has hit close to twenty trillion US dollars, an amount that can be shared with all the US citizens at the rate of approximately 60,000 USD each. Numerous other studies also indicate that as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP), the national debt, during the era of President Obama’s administration
...peaked to more than 100% of the GDP, (Wright, 2014). This raises concerns from all over the world. This, however, does not mean that I am against the national debt, but if the funds raised from the national debt are utilized constructively, thus leading to economic growth, then the debt becomes more beneficial for a long-term sustainability of the nation. The problem we experience in the US is that the money borrowed is continuously spent without any realistic returns.
There are numerous government expenses that directly or indirectly contribute to the National debt. In all these expenses, the federal government of the United States has realized no beneficial results from the investments. A good example of these government expenses is the provision of income security benefits. The investment in this sector may have no future benefits t
the nation. If such money were invested in other fields such as the educational sector or for the development of infrastructure, there is a greater potential for the generation of returns that directly or indirectly benefit the nation. The other main contributors to the growing national debt include the Obamacare, the Medicare and the Medicaid.
For us to be able to reduce the national debt, a very comprehensive plan must be laid to address the main culprits of the current national debt. Some of the key actions that the government should stress on most to achieve this include the increasing the government revenues, reduction of unnecessary spending and also to slow the growth of entitlement spending.
Increasing the government income can take various angles. The main way in which the government revenue can be increased is through reforming the tax codes. Raising all tax rates on the all the incomes by a small percentage is one of the ways to achieving this. This can produce additional revenues that can help settle the government debts. This increase in the tax rate should not only be applied to the income taxes alone but also on the forms of taxes like the corporate tax and the excise taxes.
Reducing unnecessary expenditure is also another way of reducing the national debt. This can be achieved by first reducing the number of government employees. This would save hundreds of billion dollars that can be channeled to other return-generating investments. Another way to cut down on government expenditure is to eliminate the space exploration programs, eliminate the issuance of grants and other programs that are not returns-based.
The sooner we employ these actions, the faster
the changes are realized. The federal government should try to act as early as possible so as to limit the disruptions and yield fruits of gradual changes over time. This also means reducing debts to a level that is quite sustainable. However, if we wait any longer, then it means that the in the future we would have to increase tax rates by greater percentages, which will not favor any form investments in the country.
References
Wright, R. E. (2014). One nation under debt: Hamilton, Jefferson, and the history of what we owe. New York N.Y.: McGraw-Hill.
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