Federal debt and spending are spiraling out of control. America is digging itself deeper and deeper in debt, burdening the next generation and America’s future.
In an effort to better communicate the crippling problem of debt, The Heritage Foundation has updated its “Federal Budget in Pictures” website to demonstrate visually how runaway taxes and spending are hurting America.
The charts are revealing and capture the disastrous effect of our nation’s budget. These charts are particularly telling:
- Publicly held debt is set to skyrocket– Runaway spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will drive federal debt to unsustainable levels over the next few decades. Total national debt consists of publicly held debt and intergovernmental debt. Intergovernmental debt is the amount that the government owes to specific programs or agencies, such as the Social Security Trust Fund. Publicly held debt is owed to individual private lenders.
- Obama’s budget will raise taxes by $2 trillion– President Obama’s 2013 budget includes about $1.5 trillion in tax hikes. Other proposals bring the true size of President Obama’s tax hikes to over $2 trillion. This includes letting the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire for high-income earners and small businesses and imposing additional taxes on these groups. President Obama also proposes a higher death tax and the institution of new taxes, such as the punitive bank tax.
- Federal spending exceeds federal revenue by more than $1 trillion – Since 1965, spending has risen constantly. While federal revenues are recovering from the recent recession, spending is growing sharply, resulting in four consecutive years of deficits exceeding $1 trillion.
- Entitlement spending will nearly double by 2050– Spending on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Obamacare subsidies will soar as 78 million baby boomers retire and health care costs climb. Total spending on federal health care programs will more than double. Future generations will be left with an untenable debt burden.
You can view all the charts and analysis on the Federal Budget in Pictures website.
Despite the grim picture painted by the charts, The Heritage Foundation has a plan to turn the nation’s debt problem around. Heritage’s plan, Saving the American Dream, cuts spending, balances the budget within ten years, reduces the size of government, encourages personal fiscal responsibility and fosters economic growth—all without raising taxes.
Which Heritage chart is your favorite? Post links to your favorite chart in the comments.
Emma Runion - April 26, 2012
I always wonder at how the utopian Socialist movement stays alive when it’s proven a failure over & over decade after decade.I pray that enough people in the world have had enough of this experiment & especially Americans whom have already lost many freedoms.We must strive to hold our elected officials accountable in our lifetime.