The Pros And Cons Of National Debt

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Credit cards, student loans, house payments, or buying a brand new car. All have one thing in common: debt. Most of functioning society incurs debt throughout their time as a hard working citizen, but some consider their debt as “good”; eventually returning a larger investment than initially making. Lawmakers, higher officials, but especially economists consider the United States’ 20 trillion dollar debt a not-so-bad thing, while others weigh-in that the federal government needs to get on top of its budget before we all go broke. Like all transactions, there are two sides. In this case, debits and credits. A concept we forget to think about when referring to the national debt is the fact that every dollar of our debt creates an equal value of assets (Mayhew, 2017). Debt, in itself, has a negative connotation to it, probably because on paper it would take $63,000 per US Citizen to repay the 20.6 trillion dollar debt (textbook reference).
As much as Americans do not consider it, we play a huge role in why the country is in a lot of debt in the first place. We cannot keep blaming the massive debt on the government. American citizens own approximately 14.6 trillion of that 20.6 trillion due to student loans, social security, …show more content…

“In the short run, public debt is a good way for countries to get extra funds to invest in their economic growth. Public debt is a safe way for foreigners to invest in a country's growth by buying government bonds” (Amadeo, 2017). An allotted amount is given to the government through bond purchases; it brings funds for states to improve roads, businesses to offer higher payrolls, and better 401k plans, as well as better healthcare opportunities (Amadeo, 2017). This is affecting toward the economic cycle; citizens have a more expendable income to spend on wants and luxuries, eventually boosting all-around economic growth (Amadeo,