The National Debt Crisis

The National Debt Ceiling has been increased once again.  With no fanfare whatsoever, President Obama signed into law on February 12, 2010 a bill raising the national debt ceiling from $12.394 trillion to $14.294 trillion.  The signing took place behind closed doors and with no cameras present.

The National Debt Ceiling had been raised less than two months ago, but this latest action was required because Read the rest of this entry »

President Obama has released revised budget projections, and they show another record deficit for the federal budget.  The budget deficit for the 2009 fiscal year was a record of $1.4 trillion, but the projected deficit for fiscal year 2010 is projected to set a new record at almost $1.6 trillion.  In 2011, the Administration expects the deficit to decline to “just” $1.3 trillion.

Looking down the road past 2011, the Obama Administration projects that the deficit will Read the rest of this entry »

President Obama’s first year is in the books, so it seems like an appropriate time to see how he is handling the National Debt.  When President Obama took office on January 20, 2009, the National Debt stood at just under $10.627 trillion.  On his one-year anniversary of January 20, 2010, the National Debt totaled just over $12.327 trillion.

That means the National Debt has increased by a whopping $1.7 trillion during his first year in office.  That is the largest single year increase of any President in the history of the United States.

It will be interesting to see what the second year holds.

Where are interest rates headed?  Interest rates are one the most influential factors in American economic activity.  In fact, the only thing that affects the economy more than interest rates would be the unemployment rate.  Since this blog explores the consequences of America’s runaway National Debt, we thought it would be appropriate to explore the relationship between interest rates and the national debt. Read the rest of this entry »

Eliminate my debt!  It’s a plea coming from more and more Americans these days who feel overcome by the burdens of too much debt in a bad economy.  Although this blog normally focuses on the effects of government debt, we feel it is equally important to share tips on the proper management of personal debt.

There are several viable approaches for dealing with too much personal debt, including debt consolidation loans, home equity loans, and others.  But in this article, we want to share a strategy for systematically eliminating your debt and becoming debt free.  It requires discipline, but it’s not as hard as you might think. Read the rest of this entry »