Please respond to my classmates post the original assignment below:
Revenues
Gross Domestic Product and total spending both displayed upward trends until 2019, according to Fiscal Data. However, in 2020, GDP experienced its first decline since 2015, dropping from 25.42 trillion to 25.09 trillion. Despite this, total spending continued to rise, reaching a peak of 7.72 trillion in 2020, making this the largest year-over-year increase since 2015, approximately 2.4 trillion. Post-2020, GDP and total spending have diverged, with GDP increasing while total spending decreased. GDP rose from 20% to 23% between 2015 and 2023, peaking at 31% in 2020. (Fiscal Data Explains Federal Spending, n.d.)
Spending
The federal government’s spending is allocated to multiple categories according to the Fiscal Data website. Each category represents goods, services, and programs into which the government invests resources and funding. These categories include Health, Net Interest, National Defense, Medicare, Income Security, Veterans Benefits, Commerce, and Housing. Another grouping encompasses Education, Training, Employment, Social Services, and Transportation. Additionally, a miscellaneous category represents an assortment of less substantial expenditures. According to Government Spending Watch (Definitions and Sources, n.d.), each category is detailed below:
Health- Covers marketplace health insurance subsidies, Medicaid, CHIP, and ACA costs, which benefit low-income individuals, including children, parents, older adults, and individuals with disabilities.
Net Interest- Funds interest payments on past deficits, supporting public services and international programs like humanitarian aid.
National Defense- Covers Defense Department costs, including operations, personnel, weapons procurement, and research.
Medicare- Offers health coverage to individuals 65 and older and those with disabilities.
Income Security- Provides aid, excluding health insurance or Social Security benefits, to those facing hardship, including tax credits, unemployment insurance, and COVID relief.
Veterans Benefits- Provides benefits to veterans, former federal employees, civilians, and the military.
Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services- Invests in education, infrastructure, natural resources, research, law enforcement, and other federal duties.
Transportation- Funds are used for building, maintaining, and repairing highways, bridges, and roads and for weather-related upkeep.
Commerce and Housing- Offers various forms of assistance for low-income individuals, including food aid, housing support, childcare, energy bill assistance, and programs aiding abused or neglected children.
Miscellaneous- Includes various expenditures.
Choices and Scarcity
If I were responsible for managing spending, my initial focus would be providing additional resources for healthcare and education. Emphasizing healthcare would promote a healthier society, well-being, and longevity. Investment in education can impact long-term economic growth by facilitating access to resources and quality educators. Enhanced knowledge and skills training could fuel innovation and creativity, benefiting collective well-being.
Given the constraints of limited resources, reallocating funds would be necessary. As Shapiro et al. (2022) pointed out, a fundamental economic principle is that every choice carries an opportunity cost (p. 30). It is crucial to balance the redistribution of resources, especially considering the existing deficit. For instance, funds might need to be shifted from income security programs to increase teacher salaries, potentially affecting tax credits and unemployment benefits through reductions or eliminations.
Increasing Revenues
The U.S. government raises funds by issuing securities, or debt, to individuals, businesses, other government agencies, and foreign countries. These securities encompass Treasury bills, notes, bonds, Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), and savings bonds (Borrowing and the Federal Debt, n.d.). In addition, taxes are applied to and, at times, raised on goods, services, property, and income to raise income.
References
Borrowing and the Federal Debt. (n.d.). National Priorities Project. https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/borrowing-and-federal-debt/
Definitions and Sources. (n.d.). Government Spending Watch. https://www.governmentspendingwatch.org/spending-data/8-govt-spending-site/7-definitions-and-sources
Shapiro, D., Greenlaw, S. A., & MacDonald, D. (2022). Principles of Economics 3e. OpenStax, Rice University. https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-economics-3e
U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data. https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/federal-spending/
Orginal assignment:
Fiscal Data is a one-stop shop for federal financial data. The Department of the Treasury and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service created Fiscal Data to consolidate federal financial data into one easy-to-use website. This website will provide you with an overview of US Government finances. You’ll find information on revenue and spending, as well as the deficit and the debt. This website provides an overview of the trillions of dollars collected and spent by the federal government each year.
The federal government operates much like your individual household. They take in revenue (like your household income) and they spend that revenue on programs (your household expenses). Just like your household operates, decisions are made about your income and expenditures, the Federal Government must also make those decisions.
Conduct additional research. For guidance on finding, selecting, and evaluating scholarly, peer-reviewed resources, please refer to the NLU Library’s Research Process guide and/or make an appointment with a librarian! Respond to the following discussion prompts and in your answers, be sure to draw on all relevant readings and videos in this week’s materials. Also, be sure to provide examples to support your answers.
Revenues. When you explore this website, you’ll see that the main sources of revenue are taxes from individual taxpayers, small businesses, and corporations. There are smaller sources of revenue through excise tax, estate tax and other taxes and fees. When you look at these sources of revenue over time, what surprises you about the information? Provide details to support your answer.
Spending. When you further explore this website, you’ll see that the main sources of expenditures are goods, programs, and services that support the economy and people of the United States. The federal government also spends money on the interest it has incurred on outstanding federal debt (yes, the federal government, much like individual households, must borrow money to bridge the gap between revenue and expenditures). Identify each category of spending and provide a short definition of each category.
Choices and Scarcity. As you can see from your research, there is only so much revenue and choices must be made about where to spend that money for goods and services. If you were in charge, how would you change the spending of the revenues? Why? What would have to be given up in order to implement this new plan?
Increasing Revenues. If there are extra expenditures in your household, you can either take out a loan or increase your income. How would the US Government go about taking out a loan? How would the US Government go about increasing the Revenue? Provide detail and examples to support your response.
After completing your initial post, review and post critiques/insights/reactions of a minimum of 200 words each to at least two of your colleagues’ postings on different days. This is a minimum requirement. Remember to respond to any questions or requests for additional information from you from your classmates and your instructor.
