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.