Some good scoop on the Federal Debt from Wikapedia. The main drivers of deficit increase are Medicare and Medicaid, Defense, income security and food stamps, and Social Security.
The only way to get our country back on track is cut backs in these programs and tax increases. Unfortunately the left refuses any cutbacks and the right refuses and tax increases.
We are clearly on an unsustainable path. If something is unsustainable it will not be sustained. We will eventually do the right thing but it won't make many people happy.
Causes of change in debt
[edit]2001 vs. 2009
According to the CBO, the U.S. last had a surplus during fiscal year (FY) 2001. From FY2001 to FY2009, spending increased by 6.5% of GDP (from 18.2% of GDP to 24.7%) while taxes declined by 4.7% of GDP (from 19.5% of GDP to 14.8%). The drivers of the expense increases (expressed as % of GDP) are Medicare & Medicaid (1.7%), Defense (1.6%), Income Security such as unemployment benefits and food stamps (1.4%), Social Security (0.6%) and all other categories (1.2%). The drivers of tax reductions are individual income taxes (−3.3%), payroll taxes (−0.5%), corporate income taxes (−0.5%) and other (−0.4%). The 2009 spending level is the highest relative to GDP in 40 years, while the tax receipts are the lowest relative to GDP in 40 years. The next highest spending year was 1985 (22.8%) while the next lowest tax year was 2004 (16.1%).[62]
[edit]2001 vs. 2012
The U.S. budget situation has deteriorated significantly since 2001, when the Congressional Budget Office(CBO) forecast average annual surpluses of approximately $850 billion from 2009–2012. The average deficitforecast in each of those years as of June 2009 was approximately $1,215 billion. The New York Times analyzed this roughly $2 trillion "swing," separating the causes into four major categories along with their share:
- Recessions or the business cycle (37%);
- Policies enacted by President Bush (33%);
- Policies enacted by President Bush and supported or extended by President Obama (20%); and
- New policies from President Obama (10%).
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