ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES

“ The Greatest Generation ” is a term coined by journalist Tom Brokaw to describe the men and women who served or supported the United States during World War II. Their willingness to personally sacrifice for the greater societal good was highlighted in Brokaw’s 1998 book of that same name . Unfortunately, the baby boom generation – my generation – may not be remembered so fondly. An appropriate description for those of us born between 1946 and 1964 might be “ The Most Selfish Generation .” I say this because of the wreckless fiscal irresponsibility we have demonstrated over the past 31 years. Take a look at the red graph below. At the end of 1980, the U.S. public debt was less than 1 trillion dollars. That means from the creation of this nation through 1980, the entire net accumulated amount of money borrowed by the U.S. federal government was less that 1 trillion dollars. In 1981, about the time that baby boomers became leaders in both the public and private se...

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Infographic Source: National Debt LifesLittleMysteries.com Click the image above to see it completely.

Debt commission leaders paint gloomy picture By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer Glen Johnson, Associated Press Writer Sun Jul 11, 9:30 pm ET BOSTON – The heads of President Barack Obama's national debt commission painted a gloomy picture Sunday as the United States struggles to get its spending under control. Republican Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles told a meeting of the National Governors Association that everything needs to be considered — including curtailing popular tax breaks, such as the home mortgage deduction, and instituting a financial trigger mechanism for gaining Medicare coverage. The nation's total federal debt next year is expected to exceed $14 trillion — about $47,000 for every U.S. resident. "This debt is like a cancer," Bowles said in a sober presentation nonetheless lightened by humorous asides between him and Simpson. "It is truly going to destroy the country from within." Simpson said the entirety of the nation's cu...

In the March 15, 2010 TIME magazine article " Is There Too Much Worry About the Debt? ," Zachary Karabell argues that the U.S. should not lose sight of the things that increase productivity and lead to real economic growth (which in turn, increase tax revenues): investment in physical capital (infrastructure, factories and machines), human capital (education and skills training), and technology.

Mort Zuckerman: Political Leaders Must Deal With the National Debt or Future Generations Will Pay

In the March 1, 2010 CNNMoney article " America's hidden debt problem ," Jeanne Sahadi says"America's total debt load is on pace to top $13 trillion this year, and $22 trillion by 2020 -- and that's just the debt we're counting." What's not being counted: potential debt bombs that don't get factored into most budget analysis. When anyone talks about U.S. debt, they typically refer to two numbers. The first is the debt held by the public. That's money owed to those who have bought U.S. Treasurys, most notably big bond mutual funds and foreign governments. Debt held by the public today is roughly $8 trillion and rising. The second number is the money the federal government owes to government trust funds, such as those for Medicare and Social Security. The government has used revenue collected for those programs to cover other outlays. Currently, the debt to the trust funds is approaching $5 trillion. The two combined is the total gross deb...

In the January 15, 2010 Business Week article " Debtor Nations ," Mark Scott explains how excessive public debt is threatening the global economy: The Debt Bomb Facing the World If policymakers focused their attention in 2009 on dragging the global economy out of recession, this year looks likely to center on reining in the massive piles of government debt built up by big bailout packages. Failing to wrestle down the fiscal debt monster could stall the nascent worldwide economic recovery. Already this year, international rating agencies have warned about unsustainable budget deficits in Greece and Ireland, and most members of the euro zone have sailed past the 3% budget deficit cap required for membership in the common European currency. Government debt ratios in the U.S. and Britain could take decades to return to normal levels. Countries are fiendishly trying to tackle the problem. On deck for this year are spending cuts, tax increases, and other belt-tightening measures d...