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Us Debt

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Submitted By ygarcia02
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The US Debt and Deficit

The US Debt and Deficit are one of the most widely discussed and often misunderstood items of national interest of the United States. As we know almost every action and decision we make has a tax consequence. Someone who isn't aware of the tax laws or concepts doesn't really consider tax when making a decision. Also they aren't aware of how their decisions they may affect their income. There are different types of income that receive different types of taxes. Some incomes are not taxed at all while others are taxed at a very high or low rate. The definition of Tax is money that is paid by citizens and residents to federal, state, and local governments. The money that is collected from those taxes help fund services provided by the government. Taxes are the main sources of the government’s revenue. Types of taxes include income tax, payroll tax, corporate tax, excessive duty tax, sales tax, and property tax. The amount collected for each type are; 5.65 percent in payroll tax, 27.2 billion in sales tax, 9.8 billion in corporate tax, 50.4 billion in income tax and 8.9 billion in property tax. These are paid on a federal level and state or local governments as well. All money is considered Taxable income which is money obtained through wages, self-employment, and from other things like the sale of property. The majority of people pay their income taxes by having money withheld from their paychecks. The amount of income tax a person has to pay varies according to their earnings. Income tax rates are lower for those who make less money. Any individual who earns an income and lives in the United States must file a tax return and also pay taxes that they might owe.

The federal spending of the government has already done major damage to Americas spending habits; it has increased the federal budget deficit at an extremely high rate. The national deficit is about 1.4 trillion since last year. The white house budget office shows the deficit rising to 1.47 trillion. That has forced the government to borrow about 41 cent over the dollar that is being spent. The national debt has gone up to 4.939 trillion since President Obama took office. "The latest posting from the Bureau of Public Debt at the Treasury Department shows the National Debt now stands at $15.566 trillion. It was $10.626 trillion on President Bush's last day in office, which coincided with President Obama's first day."(CBS News). These deficits are caused by increases in the spending rates.

The national debt is about 15.566 trillion dollars. The biggest items causing today’s debt are; Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, Defense and war, Credit card debt and the number of unemployed. The amount that is owed for each item is: * Medicare/Medicaid $823.1 billion and rising * Social Security $715.7 billion and rising * Defense/Wars $702 billion and rising * Number of Unemployed $24,781,771 (actual) $14,028,907 (official) * Credit Card Debt $803.9 billion and rising. * Total Interest due $3.637 The government has spent over 6.3 trillion dollars in Pensions, Healthcare, education, defense and welfare, etc... With all the money being spent the debt ceiling has reached its limit of 14.3 trillion. The debt ceiling is the amount of gross debt the federal government can have. We have currently reached our limit.

With all the money that is being spent and all this debt we have, who are the number one lenders? According to CBS this is a list of the top 15 holders of the US debt are: * Caribbean banking centers ($224.8 billion) * Taiwan ($184.4 billion) * Brazil ($237.4 billion) * Insurance companies ($253.7 billion) * Oil exporters ($254.5 billion) * Depository institutions ($286.3 billion) * Medicare trust funds ($324.57 billion) * State and local governments ($444.6 billion) * Mutual funds ($797.9 billion) * Pension funds ($903.4 billion) * Japan ($1.083 trillion) * Savings bonds and other investors ($1.102 trillion) * China ($1.169 trillion) * U.S. Federal Reserve ($1.659 trillion) * Social Security trust funds

National debt totals the sum of all the outstanding debt we have. The national debt represents the accumulated total of all the government budget deficits over the past years and also the accumulated total of the government budget surpluses over the past years. We have increased the US debt tremendously. The national deficit is about 1.4 trillion since last year. Our national debt has increased to about 4.939 trillion. With all the countries lending us money and all our money being spent in welfare, social security, pensions, etc. is no surprise that we are in such debt.
Reference Page * Agresti, James D. "National Debt Facts." Just Facts, April 26, 2011. Updated 8/3/12. http://www.justfacts.com/nationaldebt.asp * General government expenses http://www.budget.gov.au/2005-06/bp1/html/bst6-02.htm * US Federal Budget Analysis http://www.usfederalbudget.us/budget_pie_gs.php * Bloch, Stephen "U.S. Federal Deficits, Presidents, and Congress" http://home.adelphi.edu/sbloch/deficits.html * US National Debt Clocks http://zfacts.com/p/461.html * Harooni, Jon and Tanuku, Ravi "Who is really lending the US all this money?" http://www.absolutereturn-alpha.com/Article/2319666/Who-is-really-lending-the-US-all-this-money.html?ArticleId=2319666 * White, James "Assessment of the 2008 Budget request and update of 2007 performance" http://www.gao.gov/new.items/do7719t.pdf * "Payroll taxes and federal income tax withholding" http://www.irs.gov * CBS News "National Debt has increased more under Obama than under Bush"
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57400369-503544/national-debt-has-increased-more-under-obama-than-under-bush/

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