What Lies Ahead for the Federal Debt, Interest Rates, and the U.S. Economy
Wharton professors Jeremy Siegel and Kent Smetters dissect the proposals of the 2024 presidential candidates.
National Debt
U.S. interest payments on its debt are set to exceed defense spending. Should we be worried?
Higher interest rates and heavy government spending is leading to ballooning interest payments on the nation's debt.
Why the US Debt Is Unsustainable and Is Destroying the Middle Class
More units of public debt mean weaker productive growth, higher taxes, and more inflation in the future. All three are manifestations of a slow-burn default.
WWII’s Impact: The Birth of Europe’s Extensive Welfare System
A Summary of “War and European Welfare Exceptionalism,” by Chris Pope.
The Fiscal State of the Nation: Testimony
Spending is driving the growth in the debt
National Debt Lesson
Title Slide
Graphic Conversations Handout (National Debt & Deficit Ed.)
Fast Facts about the U.S. Federal Debt
This fact sheet lays out everything legislators and the public need to know about the U.S. federal debt to help them examine the unsustainability of the U.S. budget.
The Price of a U.S. Credit Rating Downgrade
http://www.downsizinggovernment.orgThe federal government's debt may soon be downgraded by major credit rating agencies. What would that mean?Video produced ...
The Federal Government Has Borrowed Trillions, But Who Owns All that Debt?
The nation’s high and rising levels of debt can affect economic growth and pose a number of risks.
Economists generally view held by the public (DHBP) is as the most meaningful measure of debt, because it reflects the amount that the Treasury has borrowed from outside lenders through financial markets to support government activities. At high levels, DHBP can crowd out private investments in the economy, make it more difficult to respond to economic crises, and increase volatility within the economy.
As of the end of December 2022, DHBP was $24.5 trillion, or 98 percent of GDP. That borrowing came from both domestic and foreign creditors, with the former holding about two-thirds of it.
Domestic Holders of Federal Debt
Domestic holdings of federal debt have increased notably over the past decade, rising from $6.0 trillion in December 2011 to $17.3 trillion at the end of December 2022. The Federal Reserve, which purchases and sells Treasury securities as a means to influence federal interest rates and the nation’s money supply, is the largest holder of such debt.
T21-0181 - Distribution of Federal Payroll and Income Taxes by Expanded Cash Income Percentile, 2021
A comparison of the distribution of federal individual income taxes and payroll taxes under current law for 2021. Table also shows, by income percentile, the...
Solutions to Our Long-Term Fiscal Challenges
Solutions to the fiscal challenge must be long-term, bipartisan budget solutions that can be implemented gradually. Discover some of the comprehensive plans proposed, as well as policy options for individual parts of the budget that merit consideration.
Infographic: U.S. Debt Rises Irrespective of Who Is in the White House
This chart shows the debt ceiling in the United States from 1981 to 2023 (in trillion U.S. dollars).
Tax Day 2023: Where Your 2022 Tax Dollars Went - Institute for Policy Studies
IPS's National Priorities Project takes a look at where American taxpayers' money went in 2022, and how skewed our national priorities are.
U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time
US National Debt Clock : Real Time U.S. National Debt Clock
The National Debt? WHO CARES?!
The national debt is ballooning to exponential heights, yet anybody hardly seems to care. On this episode of Common Sense Soapbox, Seamus tries to wake up the room with some alarming statistics and data on the debt cliff we’re about to sail off.
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CREDITS:
Written by Seamus Coughlin, Tyler Brandt, and Sean W. Malone
Animated by Seamus Coughlin
Produced & Edited by Sean W. Malone
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LINKS:
https://usdebtclock.org/
https://www.thestreet.com/mishtalk/economics/23-6-of-all-us-dollars-were-created-in-the-last-year
https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financing-the-government/interest-rate-statistics
A Guide to the US National Debt: Everything you should know
The national debt is the debt that the federal government holds - this includes public debt, federal trust funds, and various government accounts. In simpler terms, the national debt includes both what the government owes others and owes itself. This is t
Timeline: 150 Years of U.S. National Debt
This interactive visual shows how the U.S. national debt has fluctuated since 1900, as well as projections all the way to 2050.
These are the states with the highest and lowest tax burdens, a report says
A new report by WalletHub measured how much people pay in property, income and sales tax in proportion to the amount of money they make.
Why did the US credit rating just get dinged?
It might have more to do with the country’s political dysfunction than with its solvency.
Taxing Wages 2023: Indexation of Labour Taxation and Benefits in OECD Countries | en | OECD
This annual publication provides details of taxes paid on wages in OECD countries. This year’s edition focuses on the impact of recent inflation on labour taxation in the OECD and how countries adjust their tax systems in response.
People's Pie | iCivics
People's Pie is a balancing act! You must fund important programs without setting tax rates too high or borrowing too much money. To succeed, you must keep your residents happy and avoid a burdensome national debt. Are you ready for a piece of People’s Pie? In People's Pie, you will:
U.S. payments on debt spike to $659 billion, nearly doubling in two years
The U.S. government spent $659 billion this year paying off the interest on its debt, according to a Treasury report released Friday.
Recent and Near-Term Fiscal Policy: Headwind or Tailwind? - San Francisco Fed
The federal government routinely uses government spending and taxes to help offset the highs and lows of the U.S. business cycle. While government spending typically increases during a recession, the magnitude of the fiscal expansion during the pandemic recession was outsized compared with the average historical pattern. This likely contributed to real economic growth and possibly inflation during the recovery. Over the next few years, U.S. fiscal policy is expected to be roughly neutral, providing neither a tailwind nor headwind to the overall economy.
Policy Basics: Where Do Our Federal Tax Dollars Go? | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
In fiscal year 2023, the federal government is estimated to spend $6.3 trillion, amounting to 24.2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). Of that $6.3 trillion, over $4.8 trillion is...
Interest on the National Debt—Who Does It Go To? | Peter Jacobsen
As US debt grows, the amount of money we spend on interest increases. But how does the US government take on debt, and who do we pay interest to?
FRED Economic Data
Federal government current expenditures: Interest payments
The U.S. national debt is rising by $1 trillion about every 100 days
The nation's debt now stands at nearly $34.4 billion.
Fiscal Deficits Drive Higher Inflation
The growth of the federal deficit in the post-COVID era, coupled with the political unwillingness to increase taxes, foretells higher-than-historical inflation rates, according to new research.