The Latest: Deficits and Debt

Calls for Fiscal Responsibility December 10, 2009 7:08 PM

The Concord Coalition convened a National Conference on Fiscal Stewardship this week in Washington, D.C. Attendees came from across the country and discussed ideas for addressing our growing national debt and increasing costs of entitlement programs, as reported by CNN Money. Learn more about the national debt, budget deficits and entitlement programs in our "Deficits and Debt" and "Social Security" issue papers and on the Concord Coalition website. Share your thoughts in our Forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget, Deficits and Debt, Healthcare, social security | Comments (0)

Healthcare Reform September 22, 2009 12:53 PM

With Congress back in session almost all attention in the halls of the Capitol appears focused on Healthcare reform. The Senate Finance Committee Chair, Max Baucus, recently released his proposal, which joins several other pieces of legislation aimed at reforming the healthcare system. The New York Times has been running a series on the various reform proposals.

What are your thoughts on the various healthcare proposals? Do you think the interests of young Americans are being adequately addressed? Share your thoughts anf views in the Forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

Deficits and Debt, Healthcare | Comments (0)

Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security July 31, 2009 8:26 AM

Tomorrow afternoon, at their annual meeting in Chicago the American Bar Association is hosting an Intergenerational Debate on Reforming Entitlement Programs. The two young lawyers are former AYA board member Erin Ginsburg and current AYA president Luke Repici. Check out the latest on healthcare reform from the Wall Street Journal. And learn more about these issues in our Social Security and Deficits and Debt Issue papers. Share your views in our Forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

Deficits and Debt, Healthcare, social security | Comments (0)

Obama Budget Projects Doubling of Debt over next 8 years March 4, 2009 8:53 PM

President Obama presented his first budget to congress last month. Included in the budget were projections over the next ten years. President Obama's projections project that over the next 8 years the national debt will jump from close to 11 trillion dollars at the start of his Presidency to $21 trillion 8 years from now. You can see the president's budget projections for yourself on the Office of Management and Budget website.

Are you concerned about such a significant increase in the amount of our national debt? Do you think such brrowing is necessary for the next 8 years? Share you views in the Forums and learn more about the national debt in the Association of Young Americans Issue paper, Deficits and Debt.

-- Association of Young Americans

Fiscal Responsibility Summit February 22, 2009 4:52 PM

Deficits and Debt | Comments (0)

Tomorrow, President Obama will convene a 3 hour Fiscal Responsibility Summit to start the process of addressing our nation's ballooning deficit and the future insolvency of entitlement programs. "On Monday, Obama is expected to announce that he plans to cut the budget deficit in half by the end of his term. The White House projects that the inherited deficit of $1.3 trillion will be reduced to $533 billion by 2013, as the US withdraws troops from Iraq and raises taxes on business and the wealthy, according to published reports," reports the Christian Science Monitor. "Monday's summit is not intended to reach conclusions or launch initiatives, but to frame the debate. A bipartisan group of budget experts recommended Thursday that the summit be followed by creation of a bipartisan, independent commission that would craft a solution to America's long-term fiscal problems. Based on the model of military base-closing commissions, the group would present recommendations to Congress for an up-or-down vote."

Learn more about the national debt in Deficits and Debt. Share your views on President Obama's $787 Billion stimulus package and the long-term budget outlook in our Forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

$10,000 Prize for Debt Video Game! December 6, 2008 8:32 AM

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation has started a contest for 18-28 year olds to see who can create a video game that addresses the United States' fiscal crisis. "The Peter G. Peterson has teamed up with mtvU to create InDebtEd, a new campaign for college students that raises awareness about the dangers of personal and government debt and promotes action to help stop the fiscal crisis in the United States. As part of this campaign, we are asking young people nationwide to participate in the InDebtEd $10,000 Challenge." You can learn more about this contest at indebted.mtvu.com/the-challenge. You can learn more about the nation's fiscal situation in the Association of Young Americans Deficits and Debt Issue Paper. As always we invite you to share your views and concerns in our Forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

President-elect Obama stresses budget reform in addition to stimulus November 26, 2008 1:25 PM

With so much focus on the amount and content of a potential economic stimulus package, President-elect Obama this week also recognized the need for reducing budget deficits. As reported by the New York Times, Obama noted that "We can't sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness or exist solely because of the power of politicians, lobbyists or interest groups," Mr. Obama said. "We simply can't afford it." The article went on to note that "Together with a two-year economic recovery package of hundreds of billions of dollars in spending and tax cuts, Mr. Obama hopes to win early approval in Congress next year for separate language committing the government to actions that would bring deficits under control once the economy recovers.

Learn more about budget deficits in our Deficits and Debt issue paper. Share your thoughts, views and questions in our Forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

Students Concerned about Federal Budget November 11, 2008 12:37 PM

Initial reports from last week's election are that over 2 million more young people voted in 2008 than in 2004, according to CIRCLE. While there are a multitude of issues of concern to young Americans, A group of young people at the University of Pennsylvania have formed a non-partisan coalition - Pound It - to address federal budget issues, including increasing annual deficits and the growing national debt. Pound It's website describes their goal as follows:

Hey, do you know how the national debt is going to affect your future? Do you really care? Probably not. However, it's going to have a bigger impact on your life than you may realize. Pound-It is a nonpartisan coalition of students at the University of Pennsylvania, formed to increase awareness about our current budget crisis. Our goal is to start a discussion about balancing the needs of the elderly and the futures of the young. Check out our site for more info. Help us turn that $10 trillion debt into a thing of the past!

Learn more about Pound It at their website and learn more about the federal budget in the Assocation of Young Americans Deficits and Debt Issue Paper. As always, we invite you to share your thoughts and concerns about these important national issues in our Forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

Activism, Budget, Deficits and Debt | Comments (0)

Bailout Agreement September 29, 2008 8:16 AM

It appears a deal on the Wall Street Bailout agreement has been reached, with the expectation that it will be passed by Congress in the next few days. "If all goes well, U.S. taxpayers will pour billions into shaky securities, many held at tottering financial institutions. Market demand for those securities has evaporated, as financial companies now deal with the fallout from bad bets during the housing run-up that ended two years ago. The government could recoup its money, if the market stabilizes and the government eventually can find buyers," reports the USA Today. The article also noted, on the other hand, "If all doesn't go well? The government will have wasted billions of dollars at a time when the money could have been put to better use elsewhere or saved. 'This is too much money in too short a time going to too few people,' with too many questions unanswered, says Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio."

While both Presidential candidates both gave tacit approval to a bailout, they also both spoke about the need to stop deficit spending in our federal budget. Are you concerned about the amount of money our federal government borrows each year and that our National debt is over $9.4 trillion? You can learn more about it in our Deficits and Debt issue paper. Share your views in our forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget, Deficits and Debt, Economy | Comments (0)

Wall Street Bailout September 25, 2008 8:06 AM

Budget, Deficits and Debt

In the last few weeks, the news about financial institutions failing has been constant, with many officials claiming evenmore widespread economic problems if the federal government did not act. Last night, President Bush addressed the nation to discuss the situation and his $700 billion bailout proposal. "The plan would allow the government to buy up unmarketable assets, such as mortgage-backed securities, that economists say are clogging the financial system and blocking access to many types of credit. After the markets recover, the government could sell the securities to investors and recoup much of its costs. But many Democrats as well as Republicans say they want more protections for taxpayers, such as allowing the government to gain a potential equity stake in companies that participate," reports the Wall Street Journal.

David Walker, former U.S. Comptroller and current president of the Peterson Foundation, in an op-ed in the Financial Times related this financial crisis to the gvernment's deficit spending and growing national debt. "Beyond the turmoil for banks and homeowners, however, there is a super-sub-prime crisis brewing in Washington. Our fiscal policies have created a disconnect between today's citizens and future taxpayers. Today's taxpayers benefit from high government spending and low taxes, while future generations are expected to pay the bill. Our real challenge is where we are headed on our do-nothing fiscal path. Washington has charged everything to the nation's credit card - engaging in tax cuts and spending increases without paying for them."

How have you been impacted by this financial crisis? Has President Bush, or anyone else, sufficiently explained the situation? Share your thoughts and vies in our Open Forum. Also, you can learn more about the national debt and federal government deficits in the Association of Young Americans' Deficits and Debt issue paper.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget, Deficits and Debt, Economy | Comments (0)

I.O.U.S.A opens next Friday! August 14, 2008 5:18 PM

Next friday, with some early showings a week from tonight, a feature documentary "I.O.U.S.A." will open in 10 cities around the country. The film is fact-based, nonpartisan and nonideological, and it features a number of candid appearances, including by Warren Buffett, Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker, Pete Peterson, Sens. Kent Conrad and Judd Gregg, former Treasury Secretaries Paul O'Neill and Robert Rubin, former CBO chief Alice Rivlin, Rep. Ron Paul, Bob Bixby, and David Walker. You can learn more at the film's website - www.IOUSAtheMovie.com.

Learn more about our nation's budget in AYA's Deficits and Debt Issue Paper and at the Peterson Foundation. Share your thoughts, questions and concerns in our Deficits and Debt Forum.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget, Deficits and Debt, Healthcare, social security

Dealing with Medicare Costs July 7, 2008 12:23 PM

In the next few weeks Congress and the President will be forced to face the increasing Medicare costs, is only in the short term, as scheduled cuts to physican compensation went into effect on July 1. "How to pay doctors through the federal health insurance program is an issue that lawmakers are forced to confront every year because of what is widely agreed to be an outdated reimbursement formula. [...] Just before the Fourth of July recess, the House passed a bill to prevent the Medicare pay cut by a vote of 355 to 59. In the Senate, Republicans blocked efforts to take up the bill, so the cut took effect on July 1, as required by the formula. But the Bush administration has delayed processing of new claims to give Congress time to come up with a compromise," reports the New York Times. "[T]he Medicare issue has been a sticking point for years. The question is how to rein in the rapidly rising cost of the federal health program. Members of both parties say they want to change the formula, which defines a "sustainable growth rate" for spending on doctors. But Congress is nowhere near agreement. The pending bill offers a short-term fix. It would reverse the 10.6 percent cut and increase Medicare payments to doctors by 1.1 percent in January. Under the current formula, doctors would still face cuts of more than 5 percent a year from 2010 to 2012."

Reforming medicare and medicaid was one of the issues taken up at the Youth Entitlements Summit (YES) a few weeks ago in DC. AYA's president participated as one of the youth panelists at YES, which culminated in the bipartisan panel authoring a Declaration for addressing entitlement and budget issues. Share your thoughts and questions on Healthcare costs and the federal budget in our forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget, Deficits and Debt, Healthcare

Entitlement Reform June 17, 2008 8:50 AM

Yesterday and today, 12 young americans - including the president and co-founder of the Association of Young Americans - have been holding hearings on the increasing costs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in Washington, D.C. at the Youth Entitlements Summit. Today the summit will hold a panel on the underrepresentation of young people in the political process along with other events that will including Senator Norm Coleman, Representative John Spratt and Representative Paul Ryan. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post about the conference. You can learn more about entitlement programs and the federal budget in our Social Security and Deficits and Debt issue papers. Share your questions, ideas and concerns in our Forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget, Deficits and Debt, Healthcare, social security

Tax Cuts June 2, 2008 3:47 PM

This morning, President Bush spoke today about how important he feels it is for the tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003 to be made permanent.

"[T]he tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 were necessary. And the facts are that we had 52 months of uninterrupted job growth, the longest in the history of the United States. I know you believe, and I firmly believe, that those tax cuts were part of that engine for that economic vitality. And the economy is not doing as well as we'd like to do -- like it to do today, but there's no question that the tax cuts provided economic vitality.

"And now the question is, what will the Congress do? Given the facts that tax cuts have worked, what will be the congressional response? Our response is, let's make those tax cuts permanent. Let's make sure that there is certainty during uncertain times in our economy. Imagine if you're trying to plan -- plan your life, plan the future for your small business -- and you don't know whether or not Congress is going to keep your taxes low. It makes your environment more uncertain."

The Congressional Budget Office reports that "the federal government recorded a deficit of $151 billion for the first seven months of fiscal year 2008, CBO estimates$70 billion more than the shortfall incurred in the same period last year."

In two weeks AYA's President and co-founder will be one of 13 panelists and the Youth Entitlement Summit in Washington, DC. The summit is being held to examine the long term budget outlook, with focus on social Security and Healthcare spending

What is your opinion about tax cuts, deficit spending and the state of the federal budget? You can learn more about the budget and the National Debt on our website here. Share your views in the Deficits and Debt Forum.

-- Association of Young Americans

Deficit for 2008 already at $311 Billion April 28, 2008 11:44 AM

Six months into the 2008 fiscal year (budget years run from September), the federal budget deficit is already $311 Billion. "That figure would represent a big jump from the fiscal 2007 deficit of $162 billion, admitted the White House. But, measured as a percentage of the nation's gross domestic product, $410 billion in red ink is well within recent historical norms, according to administration budget documents," reports the Christian Science Monitor. "A bipartisan group of experts organized by Brookings and the Heritage Foundation recommends that Congress enact explicit long-term budgets for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and set limits on the automatic entitlement spending growth. Such action would force Congress to make trade-offs between entitlements and other fiscal priorities."

In our Deficits and Debt Issue Paper, Peter G. Peterson is quoted as stating that "The temptation to buy votes from boomers and seniors by piling massive unfunded liabilities on future generations ($74 trillion at last count) seems hard to resist. According to humorist Dave Barry, 'it's like going to a fancy restaurant and ordering everything on the menu, secure in the knowledge that when the bill comes, you'll be dead.' [...] [B]oth political parties have formed an unholy alliance an undeclared war on the future. An undeclared war, that is, on our children. From neither party do we hear anything about sacrificing today for a better tomorrow."

What do you think about the federal government running annual and increasing budget deficits? Learn more in our Deficits and Debt Issue Paper and share your thoughts in the Forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget, Deficits and Debt

Government Waste April 9, 2008 9:38 AM

The Government Accountability Office released a report this week that detailed improper expenses incurred by government workers. "The review of card spending at more than a dozen departments from 2005 to 2006 found that nearly 41% of roughly $14 billion in credit-card purchases, whether legitimate or questionable, did not follow procedure either because they were not properly authorized or they had not been signed for by an independent third party as called for in federal rules to deter fraud. For purchases over $2,500, nearly half or 48% were unauthorized or improperly received. Out of a sample of purchases totaling $2.7 million, the government could not account for hundreds of laptop computers, iPods and digital cameras worth more than $1.8 million. In one case, the U.S. Army could not say what happened to computer items making up 16 server configurations, each of which cost nearly $100,000," reported the USA Today. A copy of the report is available here.

Share your thoughts on the GAO findings in the Open Forum.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget, Deficits and Debt, Gov't Reform

Seniors Biggest Government Expense February 14, 2008 1:45 PM

Benefits for senior citizens account to the largest portion of federal government spending according to a new report by the USA Today. "The federal government spends more on seniors than on any other group or program," the report found, noting the following:

Federal spending in 2007 (billions) Percent of budget

Senior benefits $952.3 34.9%
Defense $552.6 20.2%
Interest on debt $237.1 8.7%

Learn more about Federal government spending in our Deficits and Debt paper and one of the main federal expenses in our Social Security paper.
Share your thoughts and concerns in our Forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget, Deficits and Debt, social security

President Bush's 2009 Budget Unveiled February 6, 2008 5:04 PM

Amid the news and excitement of the presidential primaries and SUper Tuesday, the President released his proposed budget to congress this week. It expects a deficit of over $400 billion dollars. "[C]ritics included GOP Sen. George V. Voinovich of Ohio, who called the budget fiscally irresponsible [and] said Bush is being fiscally dishonest in portraying his proposal as starting to erase what will be about a $400 billion federal deficit this year," reports the Columbus Dispatch. "Rival-party lawmakers criticized the proposal's push to extend tax cuts that Democrats say are too weighted toward the wealthy, while not including the full costs for the war. Bush's budget calls for spending $70 billion on war efforts when about $200 billion is expected to be needed." The White House reports that the budget includes an approximately $150 billion stimulus package to help the economy.

Learn about annual budget deficits and the National Debt here on our website. Share your thoughts and concerns on the fiscal picture for our country in the Deficits and Debt Forum.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget, Deficits and Debt, Economy

State of the Union last night and Florida Primary Today January 29, 2008 9:23 AM

Monday night, President Bush gave his final State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress. The Wall Street Journal noted that "[t]he president highlighted the progress he is seeing in many of the trouble spots of his sometimes-rocky tenure, from Iraq to the U.S. housing market to hurricane-stricken New Orleans. He also touted a range of modest bipartisan agreements that his lame-duck administration is offering to strike with the Democratic-controlled Congress, in such areas as education and trade." The president told Congress that he would veto bills with earmarks, and also pointed out that they had failed to take any steps to secure entitlement programs such as social security and medicare. He noted that if they failed to act on reforming these programs the nation would be forced to raise taxes, cut benefits or run higher deficits.

Meanwhile, the Florida Primary is today for both the republicans and the democrats, although the democratic party has prohibited candidates from campaigning in Florida because the state moved up its primary.

Learn about Social Security, and Budget deficits and the Debt here on our website. Share your views on the President's SOTU address and the ongoing presidential primaries in our forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

2008 election, Deficits and Debt, social security

"Real" Ethics Reform? October 7, 2007 10:47 AM

Earlier this year Congress passed what was hailed as sweeping ethics, pork spending reform legislation. The law was supposed to reduce the practice of individual members of Congress directing large amount of federal money to pet projects in their district or state. "Thanks to the new law, there is more information about member earmarks than ever before. For the first time, the public can link the name of a member to a specific project in that member's district although the process is not as user-friendly as sponsors once suggested. But key changes promised in debates in the House and Senate aren't yet the practice behind closed doors," reports the Christian Science Monitor. "In a clarification of the intent of new reform bill, Senate majority leader Harry Reid told the Senate parliamentarian that the new law only applied to spending bills, not to authorization or tax bills. That means that members had no opportunity to challenge specific projects on the floor of the House or Senate. 'Under the OPEN Government Act that the president signed into law, everyone thought that the ability for senators to raise a point of order against earmarks added in conference applied to all bills appropriations, authorization, tax bills,' says Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, a budget watchdog group in Washington. 'Now, senators know that they can add projects with impunity to the authorization bill and no one can object. That's business as usual,' he adds."

Do you think that it is important for members of congress to consider the overall impact of these 'earmarks' rather than simply what they can get for their particular district or state? What ar your thoughts on government spending, more generally? Be heard in the Deficits and Debt forum.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget Estimates lower than Expected July 13, 2007 5:44 PM

The mid-year budget estimates are lower than previously expected, due tp increased tax revenues. "According to the Office of Management and Budget's annual mid-session review, the federal budget deficit is now predicted to come in at $205 billion for the fiscal year that ends this October. That's $43 billion lower than last year's deficit and about half the recent peak of $413 billion, hit in 2004. In fact, it's $15 billion lower than OMB predictions of only five months ago. The big reason for the improved budget picture? Tax receipts. Specifically, higher-than-expected corporate tax liability, due to high profits," reports the Christians Science Monitor. "Looking farther ahead, the nation still faces a huge budgetary crunch when members of the baby boom generation begin retiring in large numbers, sending up the costs of Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlement programs." Learn more about budgets deficits and the national debt. Share your ideas on national taxing and spending policy in the Deficits and Debt forum.

-- Association of Young Americans

Medicare Funding Warning Issued April 25, 2007 2:14 PM

The projected insolvency of Medicare, and Social Security, are well known, but the contents of report released this week by the two programs' Trustees has triggered the requirement that the President proposes reponsive legislation. A summary of the report includes a message to the public which states in part, "The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 requires that the Medicare Report include a determination of whether the difference between total Medicare outlays and dedicated financing (such as premiums and payroll taxes) exceeds 45 percent of total outlays within the first 7 years of the projection period (2007-2013 for the 2007 Report). The Act requires that an affirmative determination in two consecutive reports be treated as a "funding warning" for Medicare that would, in turn, require a Presidential proposal to respond to the warning and expedited Congressional consideration of such proposal." This affirmative determination has been made in 2006 and now 2007 such that the Medicare Funding Warning has been triggered requiring "the President to propose legislation that responds to this warning within 15 days of the submission of the Fiscal Year 2009 budget and for Congress to consider the proposal on an expedited basis." Learn more about Social Security on our webite here. Take part in the discussion on the inadequate funding of these programs in our Deficits and Debt and Social Security Forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget for 2008 March 30, 2007 1:34 PM

"The 2008 federal budget blueprints passed by the House Thursday and the Senate last week promise to boost spending on popular programs without raising the deficit," reports the USA Today. How exactly the democratically controlled Congress plans to do that is less clear. Democrats have reinstituted 'pay as you go' rules which require any new spending or tax cut to have a corresponding tax increase or spending cut. That rule has not been in place since 2002. The article notes that, "Republicans say Democrats either can claim to eliminate the $248 billion deficit over five years or to avoid tax increases but not both. To balance the budget, they say, Democrats assume that Bush's tax cuts will expire after 2010. That contributes to what they say would be a nearly $400 billion tax increase 'the largest tax increase in American history,' says Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., top Republican on the House Budget Committee." Are you more concerned about tax increases or budget deficits and the national debt? Be heard in the Deficits and Debt forum. And learn more about Federal Deficits here.

-- Association of Young Americans

2008 Budget February 5, 2007 9:33 AM

Today President Bush is submitting his budget to Congress. The budget, "shows the federal deficit falling in each of the next four years and would produce a $61 billion surplus in 2012, administration officials said. But to get there, Bush is counting on strong economic growth, diminishing costs in the Iraq war and tight domestic spending to offset the cost of his tax cuts," reports the Washington Post. "Administration officials also exclude some potentially expensive items. Their request, for the first time, attempts to show the true cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the coming fiscal year, $145 billion, but includes just $50 billion for fiscal 2009 and nothing thereafter. The president's budget would also reduce spending for Medicare and Medicaid, the federal government's health programs for the elderly and the poor, by about $100 billion over five years. And it would provide insufficient extra cash to maintain coverage for poor children currently enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Program." Additional information about the budget is available at whitehouse.gov. You can learn more in our issue paper, Deficits and Debt, and share your ideas on the federal budget in our Forums.

-- Association of Young Americans

Relative Cost of the War January 17, 2007 7:17 AM

Estimating that the Cost of the War in Iraq to eventually reach 1.2 trillion dollars, a New York Times piece posits what else could have been done with that money. "[D]oubling of cancer research funding, treatment for every American whose diabetes or heart disease is now going unmanaged and a global immunization campaign to save millions of children's lives [...], universal preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old child across the country [...] "a huge increase in reconstruction funds" [for New Orleans], recommendations of the 9/11 Commission that have not been put in place better baggage and cargo screening, stronger measures against nuclear proliferation could be enacted, [f]inancing for the war in Afghanistan could be increased to beat back the Taliban's recent gains, and a peacekeeping force could put a stop to the genocide in Darfur." The article goes on to note that assessment of the President's plan to send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq should be evaluated based on "whether the surge would be better than the political strategy plus whatever else might be accomplished with the $20 billion."

What do you think of the suggestion that governement expenditures should be evaluated based upon what else could be accomplished with the money and resources? Are there some programs or initiatives which should be pursued regardless of the expected cost? Be Heard in the Deficits and Debt Forum.

-- Association of Young Americans

Balancing the Budget January 16, 2007 10:44 AM

It is expected that the President, in next week's state of the Union address, will set a balanced budget as one of his goals. The New York Times reports that U.S. comptroller general, David Walker has noted that "The government is living far beyond its means, he said, and if not for excess cash in the Social Security trust fund, it would be recording deficits on a magnitude not seen since the recession of the early 1990s. Take away the Social Security money, and the deficit would have been $434 billion last year, about 3.3 percent of GDP, which rose 6 percent in 2005, compared with 2004. That point is critical, Walker told a Senate committee last week, because the Social Security surplus will begin to shrink in 2009, as the baby boomers start to retire. It is it estimated that the fund will dry up completely in 2017. At that point, the nation's rosy fiscal picture will darken rapidly. Costs for entitlement programs -- Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare -- will explode. Without radical changes in tax policy and retirement spending, the deficit will make up more than 24 percent of the economy by 2050, Walker said." Learn more about the federal deficit and debt in the Deficits and Debt Issue paper. Share your thoughts on our federal government's fiscal situation in the Deficits and Debt Forum.

-- Association of Young Americans

Budget Deficit Falls in 2006 October 13, 2006 7:56 AM

The federal government's 2006 fiscal year, which ended September 30th, saw the budget deficit drop to $247.7 billion - the lowest deficit in the last 4 years. That means the government only spent $247.7 billion more than it took in. "The administration credits its tax cuts for the improving economy, contending they helped the nation withstand the 2001 recession, the terrorist attacks and corporate accounting scandals. The deficit narrowed sharply because revenues climbed by 11.8 percent, outpacing a 7.4 percent increase in spending," reports the Washington Post. On th flip side, "The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that the deficit for the current budget year will rise to $286 billion. Over the next decade, the office forecasts that the deficit will total $1.76 trillion." Share your thoughts and concerns about government spending and budget priorities in the Deficits and Debt forum.

-- Association of Young Americans

Federal Budget out of Control? September 25, 2006 6:58 AM

This Saturday marks the end of the fiscal year for the Federal government. "Many conservatives and liberals agree on one Washington phenomenon: The budgets emerging from Congress under the Bush administration are a mess," reports the Christian Science Monitor. Federal Debt held by the public "is the fastest-growing major expense category in the budget. About 40 percent of federal debt rolls over each year, and rising interest rates make new and rolled-over debt more costly."

Today, the Association of Young Americans launches a new issue, Deficits and Debt. It provides some background on debt and deficits at the federal level, information and opinions on the implications of annual deficits and rising national debt, along with some policy solutions. As always, we invite you to review this new issue paper and share you views in the Deficits and Debt Forum.

-- Association of Young Americans