Generational Debt

The National debt consists of the total amount of money that the government has used through borrowing and the federal annual deficits that have continued to increase within the past years. With the national debt reaching over ten trillion dollars future generations are looking at the effects they will be taking because of this increasing problem. With the war continuing, we increase our debt by about four hundred and ten million dollars a day between Iraq and Afghanistan. With all kinds of different opinions about the war each and every generation has a different view on this every changing and escalating issue of national debt. With the government continuing to spend with no clear plan of attack to help future generations the American people have to create their own security, because no matter the situation people will continue to live and will financially need to be ready and able to provide for themselves in this very critical and instable financial time.

Baby boomers are seeing the economy and the ever increasing debt; however, they are still being supported by Medicare and Social Security. Children from the decades of early 70’s are beginning to worry about if there will be enough money to help support them. With them being many years into their work force and always holding strong to the system of having this health and financial plans they have not created a large enough security blanket to be able to retire and live fully on what they have saved. This is an ever increasing concern for this generation because of the uncertainty about their future. My generation is at a bigger advantage because we are starting now to plan for not having any type of Social Security or Medicare.

Having this type of knowledge and being able to prepare at such an early age is to our advantage; however, at the same point in time we pay into state and federal taxes and would like to receive the benefit by also paying and creating our own financial stability for the future.

With the national economical  crisis going on right now and the only major concern being how our generation will afford our future after retirement, we also have a concern on how this to pay for all of this.  Although the government will be saving a ton of money annually by cutting back on Social Security as well as Medicare we also need to focus on other areas that will create a significant type of income. Many expect higher taxes. However, many people to cut back on what they spend. Perhaps they will only spend what is necessary in their daily life such as food, clothing, housing, and bills such as lighting and heating.

On the flip side there is also the option of creating less tax for lower income families and creating lighter  taxes for families with a greater income;  can afford higher taxes and will get charged more. Lower and middle income families may have the same or even lower taxes than they have right now. With this option, it will create a better chance of people spending more. As people spending the extra money, it will create more jobs for people and lower the unemployment rates. More people will have jobs and they will be paying more taxes, and in the end will mean that the government is not spending more money to afford and help support families who are unemployed. However, the only downside to this situation is that people do have to continue to buy from other countries because much of the products Americans use come from foreign countries. If we are not continuing to buy their products and help support them, they will begin to suffer causing more financial instability.

The government can continue to refinance the national debt by continuing to use bonds. These situations consist of people putting money into a bond for so many months or years. As their money sits there, it will increase with interest, making them money. However, during the time the government uses it to help pay off different outstanding payments. With the interest rate continuing to increase with the national debt, we are not getting ahead.  Buyers of bonds are afraid that they will not be gaining as much money anymore from the bond system because the government financial cannot support this system; therefore, many people are seeing interest rates continuing to drop. If consumers and others stop buying these bonds the government will not have this source to avoid.

Although there are many different solutions to the problem of national debt, we have such a large amount it’s very hard to find one solution to fix the whole problem. Our generations will have to continue to look for other sources while incorporating each one of these ideas. We will have to create a plan not only for our future but as well as our “now” financial obligations. The future shows much uncertainty which is a scary feeling to many, but with knowledge and understanding planning now will only create a safe feeling for our futures.