For the past centuries, the american people dug themselves into a big hole which is the
National Debt. In this paper I will discuss the history of the national debt, effects on
the debt/deficit, wais to reduce it and control the deficit. the national debt has
increased every year from 1945 to 1995. The biggest increase of the debt was from the
years 1985 to 1995 whwn it went up about three trillion dollars. Right after the Civil
War the debt held at three billion dollars. In 1900, this debt of three million dollars
had decreased to one million dollars. In 1919, at the end of the World War 1, the debt
skyrocketed to 25.5 billion. When the Wall Street fell apart in 1929, the United States
fell into something that was called the Great Depression. It started in 1930 and lasted
until 1940. During this depression, President Franklin Roosevelt came in. He brought in
projects known as Entitlements. Some of them were known as; WPA. TVA. and CCC. Then
social welfare was born and social security began. This is what put our country into
debt. Then came war, the end of the depression, and the Eisenhower times.
The debt kept on growing so new president Lyndon Johnson developed new social welfare
programs- Medicare, and Medicaid. The U.S. Government came up with the gold standard and
stopped minting silver coins. The coins were then made from scrap pieces of metal and
the cash became paper. Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford passed the debt and added to it.
The first sign of bankruptcy occured during the Jimmy Carter Presidency. Inflation
skyrocketed and interest rates fluttered near 20%. President Ronald Reagan made the
economy act better, temporarily. To make the economy better, Reagan invented something
called a credit spree. A credit spree in my opinion is when we go out and buy
everything, but we put in on a charge (spending money we dont have.) The government cut
taxes and increased spending. The deficit exploded, but the american people were happy
using a credit card and charging everything. Republicans began using accounts about
"supply side" and "trickle down" economics. "Corporate welfare prospered again, financed
by more debt. "Between the years 1980 and 1990, the national debt quadrupled. In 1980,
it was at approximately eight hundred billion dollars. Now it's five trillion dollars
and increasing rapidly." To worsen matters republican presidential nominee, Bob Dole
says that he wants to finish what Reagan began.
Entitlemens and Handouts: Before 1930, all government spending in america totalled at
about 11% of all spending. Now in 1996 it's 44% and still growing. Most of the money
the federal government spends goes to entitlements. Entitlements are directed government
checks to individuals. Social security is the biggest entitlement and the biggest item
in our national budget. Politicians say that social security is where the money is at.
The national government predicts that by the year 2002 the national debt will be at
6.507 trillion dollars. I think that the national debt will be a continuing battle
throughout our lives.
|