Here’s What We’re Up Against(You, Me & Every Other American)

• the latest figures on Uncle Sam’s red ink:the more we know, the sooner we canbrainstorm on solutions

http://www.FacingUp.org

Uncle Sam is going to need a lot of help paying the bills: guess how much you owe?

Would you believe: over $184,000 per person and over $483,000 for each household in America?

How did this happen?!!

The big hole in our national wallet is the result of three things:

* deficits* debt* unfunded

liabilities

Deficits are the annual amount the government spends that is more than the amount of money it takes in (i.e., revenue) from taxes, fees and tariffs.

Debt is the accumulation of deficits over time

There are two kinds of debt:

Public debt: federal government securities (for example, Treasury bills) purchased and held by Americans and foreigners

Intragovernmental debt:amounts the government borrows from trust funds (for example, Social Security)

Unfunded liabilities are benefits that the government has promised to pay in the future,

without knowing in advance exactly

where the money to pay those benefits

will come from.

Social Security & Medicare are both

unfunded liabilities.

Ready now? Here are the latest government figures on how much the federal government owes…

Buckle up - - here are the latest statistics on how the federal government is spending its money (and why there isn’t any left over).

– The president's budget calls for major new spending on economic recovery, health care reform, and energy

– Total federal spending would reach $3.6 trillion

– Federal spending would account for 28.1% of GDP in 2009, but is projected to fall in later years

Source: Budget of the United States Government

Under President Obama'sbudget request for 2009:

How about all the money we pay in taxes?! You’re right – the federal government does rake in a lot of

revenue: taxes, tariffs and other fees.

Here’s a look at the latest stats

on how much cash the feds

take in.

Note: OECD comparison is for total tax burden, using accepted standard among member nations.Source: Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development Factbook

You might think the $2.1 trillion the feds took in last year was a lot of money. And it was.

But it doesn’t begin to compare with the size of the deficit and national debt.

Then there’s the trillions spent bailing out the failing economy.

So what can we do?!Are we doomed to

drown in debt, with spiraling interest rates,

more vulnerability to the actions of our

foreign lenders, and less ability for our

government to buy the things we need and

keep the promises it’s made to current and

future retirees?

It’s a big problem, but we can solve it.Tools for change: http://www.FacingUp.org/forum

Students Face Up To The Nation’s Finances has

nonpartisan discussion guides to the pros and

cons of different ways to solve the problem, to

help citizens and policymakers decide on a

plan for action.

We’ve also got interactive budget balancing games (challenge a fellow student, rival class,

or even that team that beat you in football),

a reading list, plus live webinars, other web

resources, an essay and video contest with cash prizes, and much more:

nonpartisan, free and available online at:

http://www.FacingUp.org

For more information aboutour curriculum for college students and other citizens concerned about

the budget deficit and national debt, please contact:

Andrew Yarrow ayarrow@publicagenda.org orMelissa Feldsher mfeldsher@publicagenda.org

Public Agenda (http://www.publicagenda.org), publisher of this curriculum, is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization.

Credits

Written and produced by Francie Grace

Charts by Jenny Choi and Sanura Weathers

Funding for Students Face Up To The Nation’s Financeswas provided by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation (PGPF.org)

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