This paper examines the national debt as the foremost economic challenge facing the United States. Drawing on sources from Time, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, and The Guardian, it explores how federal debt has grown relative to GDP, the role of entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, and the political dynamics surrounding the debt ceiling. The paper also considers how deficit spending affects ordinary Americans in both the short and long term, and what combination of spending cuts and revenue increases may be needed to stabilize the nation's fiscal trajectory.
The paper effectively uses source attribution to build credibility, introducing each claim with the author's name and publication before presenting evidence. This technique signals to readers that assertions are grounded in expert opinion rather than personal conjecture, a foundational skill in academic writing.
The paper opens with a broad survey of U.S. economic problems before narrowing to the national debt as the central focus. It then progresses logically through the scale of the debt, its political dimensions (debt ceiling negotiations), and finally its real-world impact on citizens — moving from macro data to human consequences. A brief Works Cited section closes the paper in MLA style.
Of all the economic problems facing the United States, most experts — or at least many of the acknowledged experts, as opposed to pundits — believe the growing national debt tops the list. There are other serious problems within the financial landscape of America, including the cost of Medicare and Social Security. Both of these entitlement programs, which serve millions of retired and disabled people, are on shaky financial footing and represent a significant drain on the economy. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, as millions of baby boomers begin to retire, spending on entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare will "start eating up government funds" (Bloomberg, 2013).
That said, it must be noted that according to Henry Blodget, writing in Business Insider, the most serious economic issues harming the average American wage-earner and homeowner include: a) "globalization" has opened up a "vast pool of billions of workers" who are willing to work for less than American workers; b) technology increases productivity so companies can do "more with fewer employees"; and c) average hourly earnings have been "flat for 50 years" while executive pay has skyrocketed (Blodget, 2012).
According to Michael Sivy, writing in the Business & Money section of Time, the most "daunting financial issue" that must be addressed is the national debt. Sivy explains that federal government debt now stands at "73% of annual GDP," and this figure does not take into account the money the U.S. government "owes itself, such as the Social Security Trust Fund" (Sivy, 2012). At current rates, within ten years the national debt could reach 93% of annual GDP. Sivy draws his data from the Congressional Budget Office, which projects that in fifteen years the national debt will "go into the danger zone" (Sivy, p. 1).
Steve Odland, writing in Forbes, notes that in 2008 economists were alarmed when the government increased the deficit from $6 trillion to $9 trillion — and that since 2008, U.S. debt has grown to "$15 trillion, or +67% in just a few years" (Odland, 2012). Odland is clearly incredulous at the astounding pace of this growth, asking: "What are we doing? What happens when every dollar in the federal budget must go to pay the interest on the debt?" He suggests there will be multiple credit "downgrades," and while raising taxes can serve as a temporary band-aid, each dollar taken out of the "private sector misses the positive economic multiplier impact and diminishes GDP growth" (Odland, p. 1). His conclusion is unambiguous: regardless of any decision on taxes, government spending must be cut.
The rapid expansion of the national debt raises fundamental questions about fiscal sustainability. When debt grows faster than the economy it supports, the government's ability to respond to future crises — recessions, natural disasters, or national security threats — becomes increasingly constrained. This dynamic makes the debt not merely an accounting concern but a structural threat to long-term economic stability.
Yet are Democrats the worst budget managers when it comes to raising the debt ceiling? Not necessarily. As Rogers explains, Republican presidents have raised the debt ceiling 54 times while Democrats have raised it 40 times. Ronald Reagan leads all presidents, having raised the ceiling 18 times. Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson each raised it 10 times (Rogers, p. 2). These figures suggest that debt ceiling increases have historically been a bipartisan practice, complicating narratives that assign fiscal blame to one party alone.
In the short run, "the economy and voters benefit from deficit spending" (Amadeo, 2012). But in the long run, deficit spending is like driving a car with "the emergency brake on, further slowing the economy," because debt holders who purchased U.S. Treasury bills demand "higher interest payments to compensate for what they perceive as an increasing risk that they won't be repaid" (Amadeo). The federal debt is an enormous drain on the economy and will continue to be so until Congress and the executive branch find a way to cut spending while simultaneously increasing revenue flowing into the Treasury.
Amadeo, K. (2013). The U.S. Debt and How it Got So Big. About.com. Retrieved June 2, 2013, from
Blodget, H. (2012). Here's the Biggest Problem in the American Economy. Business Insider. Retrieved June 2, 2013, from http://www.businessinsider.com.
Odland, S. (2012). My Top 10 Economic Worries. Forbes. Retrieved June 2, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com.
Rogers, S. (2013). U.S. debt ceiling: how big is it and how has it changed. The Guardian. Retrieved June 2, 2013, from http://www.guardian.co.uk.
Sivy, M. (2012). The Six Daunting Financial Problems Facing America. Business & Money / Time. Retrieved June 2, 2013, from
You’re 85% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 1 section.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.