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Sources: Yahoo! Finance; MarketWatch; djindexes.com; U.S. Treasury; London Bullion Market Association.
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ABOUT THE NATIONAL DEBT…Americans are more concerned about reducing the budget deficit than they have been in the past, according to a Pew Research survey.
When the United States spends more than it receives, there is a budget shortfall (aka, a deficit). Each annual deficit adds to previous annual deficits. The total of all deficits (offset by any surpluses) plus interest owed is the national debt. So far this year, the U.S. Treasury reports the government has:
· Received $2.7 trillion (less than last year).
· Spent $3.6 trillion (more than last year).
· A year-to-date shortfall is $925 billion.
When that shortfall is added to the total already owed, the national debt is about $31.5 trillion. Our national debt includes two types of borrowing:
78 percent is publicly held debt ($24.6 billion). This includes Treasury securities sold to investors at home and abroad. The amount has grown by 106% since 2013. One of the biggest owners of public debt is the Federal Reserve system, which holds almost 20 percent of publicly held national debt, according to Pew Research.
22 percent is intragovernmental debt ($6.9 trillion). The U.S. government owes this money to federal trust funds and accounts. The amount has grown by 40 percent since 2013. One of the government’s biggest creditors is the Social Security system. “…the program’s retirement and disability trust funds together held more than $2.8 trillion in special non-traded Treasury securities, or 9% of the total debt.”
Last week, Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling, which is the limit on the national debt.
Weekly Focus – Think About It
“Things never go the way you expect them to. That’s both the joy and frustration in life. I'm finding as I get older that I don’t mind, though. It’s the surprises that tickle me the most, the things you don’t see coming.”
—Michael Stuhlbarg, actor
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