Explaining Our Debt Problem
Recently, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States because of our budget problems. But the figures are awfully hard to comprehend:
- U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
- Federal budget: $3,820,000,000,000
- New debt: $1,650,000,000,000
- National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
- Recent budget cut: $38,500,000,000
To make it easier, let’s remove 8 zeros and pretend it’s a household budget:
Recently, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States because of our budget problems. But the figures are awfully hard to comprehend:
- U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
- Federal budget: $3,820,000,000,000
- New debt: $1,650,000,000,000
- National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
- Recent budget cut: $38,500,000,000
To make it easier, let’s remove 8 zeros and pretend it’s a household budget:
- Annual family income: $21,700
- Money the family spent: $38,200
- New debt added onto the credit card: $16,500
- Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
- Total budget cuts: $385
This is courtesy of the Heartland Institute.
