The year 2008 was one of the cherished years in our history. Every American was bolstered by the notion that change will come in the face of a new leader with bright ideas and determination to leave behind a legacy of flawed decisions by the previous administration that had not only drawn widespread criticism from all over the world but had plunged the nation into an economic meltdown. We are now heading towards 2012 and the current administration has not shown decent momentum to stand on its election campaign of bringing a change. We have been promised an end to war in Afghanistan by July of 2011, salvation from rising debts and a universal health care. So far I have observed minimum developments in these areas. According to the Department of treasury, the US owes a staggering 14 trillion which makes USA the highest indebted country in the world. Most of the debt has been incurred by the erroneous policies of constantly increasing the military spending by expanding wars and constructing unnecessary sophisticated weapons. The debt issue has directly caused two events that have threatened national unity over government spending in 2011 alone. One was the brawl over the budget between republicans and democrats that threatened a government shutdown but fortunately was averted at the eleventh hour and recently the dispute over increasing the debt ceiling. With these events unfolding unexpectedly, it is unlikely that a common man is assured of a bright future when the government cannot even make willful decisions to compromise with one another and carve out transparent solutions. The recent dept ceiling deal is expected to further increase deficit spending. This booming dept is disastrous for the economy because for every dollar we are... ... middle of paper ... ...he returning war veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq. Works Cited Devin, Dwyer., & Martinez,L. “Afghanistan War Costs Loom Large Over Obama Troops Announcement” Abcnews.go.com 22 June 2011. Web. 5 Aug.2011 Johnson, Chalmeres. “737 U.S. Military Bases = Global Empire” alternet.org 19 Feb. 2007. Web. 5 Aug. 2011. United States. Department of treasury. Bureau of public debt. The Debt to the Penny and Who Holds. Web. 5 Aug. 2011. United States. Whitehouse. Office of Management and Budget. The federal Budget fiscal year 2012. Web. 5 Aug. 2011. United States. Whitehouse. Office of the Press Secretary. Remarks by the President in State of Union Address. Web. 5 Aug. 2011. Wooldridge, Frosty. “Afghanistan and Iraq: Where The American Empire Dies” rightsidenews.com. 23 June 2011. Web. 5 Aug. 2011.
With these powers come several responsibilities, among them a Constitutional requirement to “from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” Although the President may fulfill this requirement in any way he or she chooses, Presidents have traditionally given a State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress each January (except in inaugural years) outlining their agenda for the coming
This deficit has to do with having responsible leader who are willing to increase awareness and make beneficial changes in the nation. In my opinion, the federal debt is a serious threat to the US that must be politically address whenever possible. I believe that the candidates of the 2016 presidential election should make this issue one of the top priorities to discuss and to dictate a considerable amount of work to fix it. That is because the worse the federal debt is, the worse the future would be to the nation. Also, voters must be well educated about this issue in order to shape their decision in voting for the candidate that seems most powerful and confident about this problem. Solving this problem may be difficult and would take time and so much effort. Therefore, the changes and solution must be on both a national and individual levels as
Paper money that was issued by the colonial government was a concern. Certain paper money could only be used for paying public debts, including military supplies or taxe...
Benjamin Franklin would be thoroughly disappointed in our country if he saw it recently. With our current president, a new, upcoming spending budget, and an infectious disease spreading around. Obama’s efforts on the National security regarding ISIS and other terrorist groups have people doubting his qualifications as president (Roff, ). Citizens believe that the president is not taking enough actions to defeat these terrorists. Only thirty-four percent agree with Obama’s way of handling extremist groups and forty percent believe that America’s top priority is national security and terrorism (Roff, ). Also, many believe that Obama no longer has but is a puppet for Congress. The spending budget that is being constructed is controversial among
"Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .
Every day in New York City, hundreds of people walk past a huge digital billboard with giant numbers across its face. Each person who walks past this billboard sees a slightly different arrangement of numbers, growing larger every second. This board is the National Debt Clock, representing the over 14 trillion dollars currently owed by the United States. While some people claim that the national debt is caused by the falling economy, most maintain that the debt itself causes the poor economy (Budget Deficits 2007). Rising debt leads to higher interest and investment rates, and cuts into our national savings. Ignoring the national debt leaves the major burden of paying it off to later generations, while meanwhile allowing our country’s economy to further drop and our dependency on other nations to rise.
The national debt is usually a frightening topic citizens of any country, however, in the United States, twenty trillion dollars of national debt is one of the major fears of the economy. Along with this fear comes every politician claiming to be the person to lower this astronomical debt to ease concerns in the modern American economy. In Hamilton’s Blessing, John Steele Gordon tries to alleviate these concerns by showing a plethora of benefits and good the debt has been able to do throughout the history of the United States. The central premise of the book and the main guideline for John Steele Gordon’s thinking is that the debt was used to save the Union in the 1860’s, the American economy in the 1930’s, and the wellbeing of mankind during
Friedman, Milton and Jacobson Schwartz, Anna. A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960. Princeton, 1963
In 2001, United Sates Representative Jim Kolbe proposed a legislation to Congress to dispose the penny coin from the currency of America because of its small impact. Although his legislation failed, most people currently argue about the penny’s existence today. Even though the penny stood as a mark of history, it is useless and should be eliminated from America’s currency.
United States. U.S. Department of the Treasury. Historical Debt Outstanding – Annual: 2000-2012, 1950-1999, 1900-1949. Treasury Direct, 2012. Web. 4 May 2014. .
guard and says 'all who live by the sword, will die by the sword.' And
U.S Federal Deficit and Debts:Understanding the history and context. (2011, November 1). Utah Foundation. Retrieved January 25, 2014, from http://www.utahfoundation.org/img/pdfs/rr7
Public debt, which comes from securities and bonds issued by the United States Treasury, is responsible for over 60 percent of the debt (“Debt Position and Activity Report” 1). These debts are being held by the public inside and outside the US. Over 25 percent of the debts are held by foreign governments, in which China and Japan accounts for almost half of the sum (“Treasury Bulletin: September 2009” 60).
United States. U.S. Department of the Treasury. Historical Debt Outstanding – Annual 1791 – 1849. Aug.
Author Unknown (1994). The Federal Reserve System: Purposes and Functions (5th ed.) Published by Library of Congress