2000-2011: Debt Ceiling Increases

"Republicans in Congress are calling for $2.2 trillion in deficit-reduction, including significant cuts to healthcare programs for the elderly and poor along with tax changes that they argue would boost the economy, congressional aides said on Thursday.

The plan offered by Republicans who serve on a congressional 'super committee' tasked with slashing deficits calls for cuts to the...

Claire Suddath explains the current budget deficit level and how the projections for the 2009 deficit were actually lower then expected. However, the current national deficit will increase the debt to GDP ratio faster then during any time since World War II. The overarching changes in the national debt since the founding of the United States are also explained. The...

"In Q2 2009, total debt outstanding in the United States — financial plus nonfinancial debt — amounted to 373.4% of GDP. At the start of 1952, the debt-to-GDP ratio stood at only 130%. In fact, in the last decades the rise in total debt has increasingly outpaced nominal income — a development which gained momentum after the erosion of the last vestiges of the...

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that huge U.S. budget deficits threaten the nation's long-term economic health and should be addressed soon.

Obama administration officials have argued that the economy, while improving, is still too weak to bear all the new taxes and spending cuts that would come with an...

"The federal budget deficit appears to be narrowing slowly but steadily, as corporate and individual income taxes rise thanks to the rebounding economy.

The Treasury Department reported Wednesday that it collected $171 billion in taxes and other revenue last month, the highest March tally since 2008, when Bear Stearns was acquired at a government-run fire sale by J.P. Morgan Chase JPM -...

"The office of Senator Jeff Sessions, ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, sends along this chart, showing that 'America’s Per Capita Government Debt Worse Than Greece,' as well as Ireland, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain."

"The Census Bureau has just published the 2012 edition of the 'Statistical Abstract of the United States' — which, barring a minor miracle, will be the last. Census didn’t include the Stat Abstract (as it’s known to its many fans) in the 2012 budget, and Congress hasn’t seen fit to overrule the agency. So it’s curtains for the Stat Abstract. I’ve been covering government for more than four...

"To summarize, Ryan’s budget plan would make crucial reforms to federal health care programs, and it would limit the size of the federal government over the long term. However, his plan would be improved by adopting more cuts and...

"The gridlocked members of the congressional supercommittee should grab President Obama and decamp to a tropical island. Specifically, they should visit Puerto Rico, where a courageous leader is using free-market reforms to reinvigorate this previously moribund U.S. territory."

"There are numerous clichés concerning the national (i.e. federal government) debt. In this article I attempt to show the grain of truth (and pile of falsehood) in these typical statements. But before doing so, I will first give a quick primer on government debt and its financing."

"Democrats looking to capitalize on voter anger at Congress began targeting Republican incumbents in the House of Representatives Wednesday, saying they were responsible for the failure of the bipartisan super committee to reach a deal cutting the country's federal debt.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is launching robotic calls to voters in 30 GOP-held House districts,...

"The recent flow of funds data released by the Fed shows that a level of private debt continues to soar. For instance, home mortgages as a percentage of disposable income rose to 97.9% in Q2 from 97% in the quarter before. The non-financial debt-to-nominal-GDP ratio stood at a record 2.1 in Q2 the same figure as in the previous quarter.

"With the hours ticking away toward a self-imposed deadline, Congressional leaders conceded Sunday that talks on a sweeping deficit agreement were near failure and braced for recriminations over their inability to reach a deal.

The stalemate was the latest sign of partisan deadlock in Washington, which members of both parties do not expect to lift until the 2012 election has clarified...

In this piece, Paul Krugman skeptically questions the current popular fervor to cut government spending. Instead of following popular opinion, Krugman declares that "governments should be spending while the private sector won’t, so that debtors can pay down their...

This piece reports on the national debt increases incurred so far under President Obama's tenure in office. Knoller notes that although President Obama often blames President Bush for the nation's high deficit, it is believed that President Obama will manage...

"The national debt is skyrocketing. In 2009 publicly held debt is projected to jump to 54.8 percent of GDP, up from 40.8 percent in 2008. A year-to-year increase of this size hasn’t occurred since World War II."

"In the spring of 1981, conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives cried. They cried because, in the first flush of the Reagan Revolution that was supposed to bring drastic cuts in taxes and government spending, as well as a balanced budget, they were being asked by the White House and their own leadership to vote for an increase in the statutory...

"The Super Committee's failure to produce a deal gives us all breathing room to construct a successful path forward for America."

"The high stakes game on Capitol Hill to cut $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit ended in a stalemate Monday, effectively suspending tough decisions on budget cuts or tax increases until after next year’s presidential election.

The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction chaired by Sen. Patty Murray (D.–Wash.) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R.–Texas) made the announcement in a joint...

"While most are keenly aware of the rapidly nearing debt-limit increase deadline, few can explain—or even agree on—what that deadline means: specifically, what are the potential implications of missing the deadline, and what’s at stake in the negotiations for passing an increase?"

"About that $14 trillion national debt: Get ready to tack some zeroes onto it. Taken alone, the amount of debt issued by the federal government that $14 trillion figure that shows up on the national ledger — is a terrifying, awesome, hellacious number: Fourteen trillion seconds ago, Greenland was covered by lush and verdant forests, and the Neanderthals had...

"The great uncertainty about how much debt is too much has tended to make fiscal discipline seem less urgent, rather than more. There is no obvious threshold beyond which investors will demand higher real yields for holding U.S. debt. Vague warnings from ratings agencies about the loss of America's 'AAA' status haven't added much clarity — until recently."

"When complicated issues like the debt suddenly become national news controversies, sometimes the tendency is to emphasize the drama of the story rather than explain the basics of the issue. What is the debt? Why is it growing? Should we be terribly concerned about it? And how would we fix it if we had to? Martin Baily answers those questions in the interview...

"Most of the 77 million post-World War II baby boomers (representing one-fourth of the U.S. population) are still working, but some are beginning to retire. As boomers retire, federal spending for Social Security and especially Medicare, given rapidly rising health care costs, will grow dramatically. As they do, younger workers—our children and...

The chart above, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows in blue the United States' tax revenues. The red line indicates the United States expenditures or spending. As can be seen in the chart, expenditures by the government have far outpaced tax revenues. The overspending results in annual deficits which increase the national debt.

"The federal budget is a key instrument in federal policy making. Through the budget process the Congress and the President determine national priorities and allocate resources among the many competing needs. They also decide how to finance those decisions, primarily through collecting resources from individuals and businesses through taxes and borrowing."

The graph above, using data gathered by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, compares the United States' government's debt to household debt (private debt, personally held by the public) with both indexed for population. Just prior to the recession of 2007-2009, the public began reducing household debt obligations. In contrast, the United States government dramatically increased its debt...

The graph above tracks the total public debt since 1966. On January 1, 1980, the national debt was roughly $863 billion. By the end of the decade, December 31, 1989, the national debt was over $2.9 trillion. That means that during the 1980s, the national debt more than tripled. Between 2001 and 2010, the national debt more than doubled from $5.7 trillion on January 1, 2001 to $14 trillion on...

This graph shows how the national debt has increased since 1980.  Since having a one trillion deficit in 1980, the national debt has exploded to nearly 9 trillion in 2005.

"This chart by Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow Veronique de Rugy illustrates the recent expansion of federal spending per American household, using household data from the United States Census Bureau and spending data from the Congressional Budget Office. The red line tracks the evolution of federal spending per household in the United States since 1985,...

"Debt increased at every level, from consumers to companies to banks to whole countries. The effect varied from country to country, but a survey by the McKinsey Global Institute found that average total debt (private and public sector combined) in ten mature economies rose from 200% of GDP in 1995 to 300% in 2008 (see chart 1 for a breakdown by country). There were...

"This chart by Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow Veronique de Rugy examines likely options for the long-term cost of carrying the debt held by the public if investors begin to demand higher interest rates.   This chart compares the Congressional Budget Office Alternative projection of net interest costs, which incorporates likely policy changes while...

These graphs show the proportion of government spending for various discretionary and non-discretionary purposes.  As a result of increased debt, the proportion spent on interest payments is expected to significantly increase by 2015.

"I could not resist posting this beautiful graph of the current state of the momentousness US debt. The graph is particularly useful for eyeballing the historical path of U.S. debt to GDP. Often pundits will say that our current debt to GDP ratio is not unreasonable because it is not too high relative to the period following the WWII and the Great Depression. ...

This graph clearly...

"Here is how the CBO says various economic variables affects its forecasts

CBO estimated that 1 percent higher interest rates each year could increase deficits by $1.3 trillion over ten years. CBO also estimated a few other 'rules of thumb' to show how changes in inflation and economic growth have significant impacts on budget...

"President Clinton averaged a surplus over his tenure. Using President Obama’s own projections of his policies, the budget deficit would average 7.8% of GDP over a first term, and 6% of GDP over two terms if he were reelected."

"Do you remember back in April 2010, when the administration was trumpeting how much better the expected budget deficit for 2010 was going to be? When, magically, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget’s projection of the expected deficit dropped by just over $300 billion U.S. dollars from its originally forecast value of $1.6 trillion dollars to $1.29...

"As of March 2011, our gross federal debt amounts to $14.27 trillion. This debt is comprised of debt held by the public ($9.6 trillion) plus debt held in intragovernmental accounts ($4.6 trillion). In total, gross debt is 94.6% of estimated GDP for FY 2011. Debt held by the Federal Reserve—as a portion of public debt—increased 74% from 2010 to 2011.

This debt is projected to grow into...

"If current policies continue, debt held by the public will nearly double in the next ten years.  According to the Congressional Budget Office, this measure of debt, which does not include securities...

Actual/projected surplus/deficit of the Federal budget 2000-2022 as a percentage of GDP. Projected is shown using both the baseline projection as well as the alternative fiscal scenario.

"The CBO, at the request of Rep. Paul Ryan, recently looked at how various interest rate scenarios would affect U.S. debt (chart and graph via the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget) ....

Note the scenarios that has interest rates at close to 9 percent. It would add an additional $5 trillion to the national debt by 2021. That would push the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio to an alarming...

"As for our potential great power rivals—Russia and China—we would have no good reason to fight a war with either in the foreseeable future if we did not guarantee the security of their neighbors. Both lag far behind us in military capability. That would remain the case even with the reductions proposed here. ... As it stands today, the United States spends about five times more on defense...

"The amount of U.S. debt per person has ballooned by more than a factor 50 in the past 90 years. This tremendous increase of inflation-adjusted federal government borrowing was explained in a post on Monday. But as some readers noted, real income has increased as well over the years. If you take rising incomes into account, does the picture look any better?

Considering income does make...

"Six months into fiscal 2012, the margin between public debt outstanding and the statutory limit is $855 billion."

"Mitchell reviews the findings of Harvard economists Alberto Alesina and Silvia Ardagna. Using data from 21 wealthy nations, covering nearly 40 years, they identified 107 separate instances of attempted fiscal reform. After controlling for a number of other factors, they found a striking pattern: in those instances in which reform failed to lower debt-to-GDP ratios, the reforms had...

" - Social Security tax receipts exceeded outlays in every year between 1984 and 2008, leading to a cumulative surplus of $1.4 trillion.

- These surpluses have been used to fund other parts of federal government operations (including Medicaid, infrastructure and defense...) under the unified budget accounting rules.

- Without these past Social Security surpluses, USA Inc. would...

"In light of the final debt ceiling kabuki theater, lets take a look at the historical government spending, via Jim Bianco of Bianco Research. Jim gives us this snapshot looking at total Federal government outlays as a percentage of GDP...."

"The key data point in Moody's view is the size of federal interest payments on the public debt as a percentage of tax revenue. For the U.S., debt service of 18%-20% of federal revenue is the outer limit of AAA-territory, Moody's managing director Pierre Cailleteau confirmed in an e-mail.

Under the Obama budget, interest would...

"The United States needs a defense budget worthy of its name, one that protects Americans rather than wasting vast sums embroiling us in controversies remote from our interests. This paper outlines such a defense strategy and the substantial cuts in military spending that it allows. That strategy discourages the occupation of failing states and indefinite commitments to defend healthy ones....

"Some things a person does owe to himself–intangibles like respect, integrity, responsibility. 'This above all, to thine own self be true.' But such duties to self are not a debt in the usual sense of a repayable loan or obligation."

"Leading authorities in the United States, including the Congressional Budget Office, use the term 'unsustainable' to describe the long-term fiscal outlook. By the year 2080, spending on entitlements alone could exceed total federal tax revenues. In the very long run (meaning from the year 2035 through 2080), the problem is primarily one of 'excess costs' in health...

"The title of my presentation [at the Nebraska Library Association annual conference, October 2011] 'Learning to Live Without a Statistical Abstract,”'signals that our gathering this morning is something of a memorial. The Statistical Abstract, born in 1878 and published annually thereafter, may well be dead [Editor's note: see this statement from GPO], a victim of cuts to the U.S. Census...

"During the last 75 years the United States has failed to balance its annual budget over 90 percent of the time. What’s worse, the government has spent money so recklessly that we now owe over $8.2 trillion, and Congress recently raised the debt ceiling to $9 trillion.

Such a trend is ominous because a country’s national debt is a mirror of its economic...

"China's substantial holdings of U.S. government debt and the creation of a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) are causing concern that U.S. economic and national security may be at risk.  Rapid economic growth, record current account surpluses, and a high domestic saving rate have allowed China to accumulate more than $1.5 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, much of which is invested in U.S...

"The specter of a credit downgrade looms, and it is frightful. A downgrade threatens to push interest rates higher, making it more difficult for consumers to borrow, for businesses to hire, and for the economy to grow. But even more frightening is the cause of the potential downgrade: unsustainable deficits fueled by government spending. There is, however, a way to exorcise this threat. The...

"Americans should only expect the federal government to do what they are willing to pay for it to do. During the last 50 years, we’ve balanced the federal budget only six times. Given our strong economy, lenders, both domestic and foreign, have thus far been willing to finance our national debt. However, in light of projected deficit and debt burdens, this may...

"For most individuals, maxing out one’s credit card is usually a sign of a spending problem—but not if you’re Congress. For the first time in history, the national debt has hit $12 trillion, and it will soon exceed the $12.1 trillion maximum amount of debt allowed by law. Yet Congress needs only to vote to give itself a higher credit limit to keep spending. An...

Using a penny as a visual aid to demonstrate one billion dollars, Bob Williams explains the massive growth in America's national debt in recent history. This video provides a brief, clear, and rather overwhelming example of the great financial burden that is piling up for future generations.

"Senator Barack Obama talks about the national debt."

"A satirical short film taking a look at the national debt and how it applies to just one family."

"Dreamland" is a video created by Intellectual Takeout through its Momthink.org project. It is the first of several videos aimed to raise awareness with moms about the national debt and the perils America faces. The video is careful to point out that it is not just politicians and the government that have embraced debt, but also many Americans.

According to Shapiro, each American's share of the National debt is $45,000. Shapiro uses a man-on-the-street format to inform people of the National Debt problem.

"It's official, trillion is the new billion. No longer is government spending talked about in terms of a mere ten digits. With the recent flurry of government spending, we are going to need another three zeros to make sense of it all. One trillion dollars is a number that few people can comprehend, let alone your standard nine digit calculator. So what does one trillion dollars look like?"

Peter Schiff, a candidate for Senator in Connecticut, explains the economic crisis.  Schiff argues that the economic collapse is not over.  Because of our inability to allow markets to restructure, Schiff argues, the coming downturn will be much worse than expected.

"Joke-telling robots, expensive walking tunnels, Blackberries for smokers, and training American prostitutes to drink responsibly. What do these things have in common? They're all questionable government spending projects in a time when our economy is struggling and people can't get jobs....or, maybe we just made them up.

Put yourself to the test. See if you can outwit the Rebel...

This video declares that it is time to "wake up" and realize that the huge amount of debt America is incurring is threatening the next generation's future.

"This video takes you to the United Estates--a gated community in sunny Florida--to help you understand the impact of Congress’ decision to annually raise our nation’s debt limit without addressing the out-of-control spending that keeps us buried in debt."

"Over the past few years, U.S. government debt held by the public has grown rapidly—to the point that, compared with the total output of the economy, it is now higher than it has ever been except during the period around World War II. The recent increase in debt has been the result of three sets of factors: an imbalance between federal revenues and spending that...

Among other things, this bill calls for the repeal of the Trouble Asset Relief Act.

"To establish a trust fund to hold new Federal revenue from mineral exploration, development, and production in Alaska and the Outer Continental Shelf in order to reduce the national debt."

"Expressing the sense of Congress that there should be a freeze on new discretionary non-defense, non-homeland security, non-intelligence spending whenever there is a Federal budget deficit."

This document provides the OMB's assessment of issues relating to the United States Budget. Among other things, this piece gives a variety of charts and graphs describing the national debt, budget deficits, and the many...

According to Joe Weisenthal, this speech finds "Dallas Fed Chief Richard Fisher...warning of the impact of cash that's not being lent out, and what he sees is debt monetiziation -- the Federal Reserve financing the government's spending directly.
...

"To require the Secretary of the Treasury to use any amounts repaid by a financial institution that is a recipient of assistance under the Troubled Assets Relief Program for debt reduction."

"Like its current citizens, the United States was born in debt-a debt so deep that it threatened to destroy the young nation. Thomas Jefferson considered the national debt a monstrous fraud on posterity, while Alexander Hamilton believed debt would help America prosper. Both, as it turns out, were right.

One Nation Under Debt...

"Cavanaugh worked in the U.S. Department of the Treasury for more than 30 years and was the first U.S. 'pensions czar,' overseeing the federal employee pension trust fund as the inaugural head of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. Given the current election-year political posturing with regard to this country's budget deficit, Cavanaugh provides a...

Defeat The Debt is dedicated to educating Americans about the size, scope, and consequences of our rapidly escalating debt.

"GovTrack.US takes you inside the legislative process on Capitol Hill. We have a team of paid reporters going where no one has taken you before inside Congress, and we combine those reports with nonpartisan reporting from other sources." This is a great resource for following proposed legislation relating to the...

"OMB's predominant mission is to assist the President in overseeing the preparation of the federal budget and to supervise its administration in Executive Branch agencies. In helping to formulate the President's spending plans, OMB evaluates the effectiveness of agency programs, policies, and procedures, assesses competing funding demands among agencies, and...

This site offers a real time clock which calculates the rising national debt and spending levels in the United States.