Deficit: why should I care?

At the turn of this century, the American national debt stood at just under $6 trillion and the deficit at a "mere" $86 billion. Today, the national debt has topped $15 trillion, and the yearly deficit for 2012 is projected at a whopping $1.2 trillion. This new, second edition of Deficits: Why Should I Care? updates all the statistics, charts, and forecasts, while adding a new chapter on how global economies now, for better or worse, affect the U.S. debt and the annual budget deficit. It also includes a new appendix detailing how the U.S. political parties view the debt issue. According to the U.S. Treasury Department's Annual Report on the Public Debt, the debt is estimated to hit $19.6 trillion by 2015. The federal government has borrowed roughly 40 percent of its total budget for the last several years, a trend that could leave the U.S. in an economic crisis. Astronomical interest payments, a debt burden to your children and grandchildren, and an increased reliance on foreign creditors are just a few of the problems. Although the U.S. has experienced soaring unemployment, stagnant production, and a crippled housing market, foremost on many economists' minds are rising deficits and ballooning debt. Others feel fears of the national debt are overblown or pale in comparison to today's economic problems.

Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; About the Author; About the Technical Reviewer; Acknowledgments; Introduction; CHAPTER 1 Crash Courseon the National Debt; Government-Provided Goods and Services; Financial Management, Government Style; Taxing; Borrowing; Budgeting; Problem Area: Social Security; Problem Areas: Medicare and Medicaid; The Budget Equation: Receipts less Outlays; Deficits and Business Cycles; December 2007 Recession; CHAPTER 2 A Huge Credit Card; History of the Debt; Think Like an Economist; Liberty Bonds; War Bonds; Who Owns the Debt?; Public Debt; Government Debt

Marketable vs. Nonmarketable ObligationsMarketable Securities; Treasury Bills; Treasury Notes and Bonds; Nonmarketable Securities: Savings Bonds; Series EE Savings Bonds; Series EE Savings Bonds; Series I Savings Bonds; Foreign Investors; Interest Payments; Summary; CHAPTER 3 Primer on the Current Global Economy; Our Interconnected World; The Impact of Weakening Economies; Potential Global Recession; Trade Downturns; World Financial Markets; Unresolved Banking Crises; Declining Income and Jobs; Economic Growth Is the Key; CHAPTER 4 Deficit and Debt Projections; Fiscal and Monetary Policy

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