ipl-logo

Why Did The National Debt Get So High

1037 Words5 Pages

On December 2, 2014, the national debt hit a record breaking $18 trillion and is not slowing down. The debt keeps climbing higher and higher and nothing is stopping it. Although the debt has gotten dangerously high, there are still people who are indifferent towards the national debt. It would be nice if we didn’t have to worry about this issue, but unfortunately, the reality is that if the debt keeps rising, it WILL affect everyone unless people demand something to be done. The national debt per citizen is $56,374. So how did the debt get so high? First off, both parties, Republicans and Democrats, have spent money with no consequences. These politicians believe that the eventual collapse of the economy will happen under someone else’s …show more content…

In simple terms, deficit spending is when someone spends more than they earn. The topic of deficit spending has been a controversial issue for many years. Some people believe that deficit spending is good for the economy. They believe it will stimulate the economy during a recession. Others think the U.S. government should always have a balanced budget to keep spending in check. One of the main arguments against deficit spending is, if the debt and interest is not repaid, it will carry over to future generations who will be stuck with the burden of repaying the …show more content…

This will cause corporations to increase the prices of their goods and services. If prices go up, it will lead to inflation. Third, as interest rates increase, pressure is put on the price of big cost items. This pressure results in a loss in value. One example is housing. Home prices will lower because people won’t be able to obtain larger mortgage loans because of higher interest rates. Buyers will be putting more money towards the actual interest that is accrued on the mortgage debt. As new home prices lower, the value of existing homes decrease. As this decrease continues, the value of a home falls below the mortgage debt of that house. This means homeowners will be losing money on their investment. A fourth affect the debt has is higher taxes. The government won’t have enough money to pay for expenses such as the Social Security Trust Fund. Right now, the government doesn’t have enough money to pay for the retirement benefits that were promised to Baby Boomers. In order to get that money, the government will increase

More about Why Did The National Debt Get So High

Open Document