America’s Finances – 101
Transposing the ‘numbers in the news’ to a household budget is a simple analogy . While
it is true that large of the national debt is owed to Americans, it is
debt. And it needs repaid. Take a close look at the following and
answer the questions at the bottom.
- * U.S. Tax revenue: $
2,468,599,000,000
- * Fed budget: $
3,795,547,000,000
- * New debt: $ 1,326,948,000,000
- ** National debt:
$16,462,000,000,000 (Source: )
- * Recent budget cuts: $
38,500,000,000
Let’s now remove 8 zeros and pretend it’s a household budget:
- Annual family income in 2012:
$ 24,685
- Money the family spent in 2012:
$ 37,955
- New debt on the credit card in
2012: $ 13,269
- Outstanding balance on the
credit card: $164,620
- Total budget cuts so far: $
38.50
- What percentage of Americans do
you think understand what these numbers mean?
- Do you feel that our government
leaders are working together to resolve our financial situation?
- Do you feel that our children
will inherit a better America than we did?
- If more Americans understood
these numbers, do you think it would make a difference in our
election processes?
- What is more important to you –
resolve these in our lifetime or pass them along?
Food for thought. Take a look at
www.usdebtclock.org. The clock is ticking.
Mark Schuster, Partner
January 19, 2013
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