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US Debt News As of 20090320 The Debt To the Penny: $11,040,807,027,558.10 US Debt divided by 306,072,976 Million American Citizens: $36,072.47 $4,898,681,252,731.51 US Debt added under Republican President George W. Bush ($4.89 TRILLION) Republican President George W. Bush was sworn in on Sunday, January 20th, 2001.  On the following Monday, January 22nd, 2001 the US Debt was: $5,728,195,796,181.57 On the Monday, January 20th, 2009 the US Debt was: $10,626,877,048,913.08 Accouning for the debt added by Republican President Bush from 2002 through 2010 increases the total.

HavenWorks #US Debt History #US Debt Weblog Republican President Reagan more than doubled the US debt.  Between Republican President Reagan and the first Republican President Bush the US debt more than quadrupled. US Debt News. United States Debt. American Debt. Brillig's >Debt FAQ: "Q: When did the Debt pass the $8 trillion mark? A: On October 18th 2005, the Outstanding Public Debt rose to $8,003,897,406,911.24 -- the first time it had risen above $8 trillion." "Q: When did the Debt pass the $7 trillion mark?  A: On January 15th 2004, the Outstanding Public Debt jumped $13 billion to $7,001,852,607,623.35. This was the first time in history the U.S. National Debt surpassed the $7 trillion mark and came less than two years after the Debt first passed $6 trillion." ... "As a comparison, the National Debt took over six years to rise from $5 trillion to $6 trillion." -via Brillig's >Debt FAQ US Debt News American Government Debt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

/US_Debt. US DEBT News: 20090326 Government - Money - Politics - Deficit - Social Security "A GOP [Republican] budget with no hard numbers." ... ""House Republicans release a 19-page document [PDF] that contains no hard spending numbers or deficit projections. Per the AP, "One of the few hard bits of information is a promise to simplify the tax code and cut income tax rates to 10 percent for people making $100,000 or less down. They also promise to cut domestic spending below current levels but don't say whether they are exempting Social Security. It's impossible to determine the projected deficit based on their offering."" ... "Not surprisingly, the Democratic National Committee pounced on the GOP's [GOP's=Grand Old Party's=Republican's] budget -- or lack thereof. "After 27 days, the best House Republicans could come up with is a 19-page pamphlet that does not include a single real budget proposal or estimate," said DNC [Democratic National Committee] spokesman Hari Sevugan. "While there had been talk that House Republicans were overriding their Senate counterparts to offer a budget alternative, it's clear after this announcement that neither of them have anything to offer but criticism."" -By Mark Murray -AP -MSNBC Government - Money - Accounting - Politics - Jobs - Deficit - Iowa "Republican Budget Plan: ‘Undo’ The Stimulus, Cut Taxes For The Rich." ... "Today, House Republicans released their budget plan, entitled “The Republican Road To Recovery.” They claim the plan “curbs spending, creates jobs and lowers taxes, and controls the debt; and it will soon have our economy growing again.”" ... "For an “alternative budget,” however, it is very short on numbers, including no mention of deficit implications. And the plan for creating jobs and sparking economic growth is actually undoing the stimulus and then cutting additional spending[.]" ... "Of course, stimulus dollars are already on their way out the door, so it’s difficult to envision how one would “undo” the bill. But even if it could be done, it would be an act of neo-Hooverism that would make [Iowa Republican Senator] Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA [Republican-Iowa]) insane three-year spending freeze look wise and prudent." ... "As Matthew Yglesias noted, “It’s strange that the Republicans railing about long-term deficits seem to love long-term deficits when the point of the deficits is to further enrich the rich.”" -By Pat Garofalo -ThinkProgress.org/Wonk Room 20090218 Barack Obama - Michael Steele - Pete Hoekstra - Don Young - Lindsey Graham - Ken Calvert - Emergency - Economics - Politics - Families - Jobs - Housing - Construction - Education - Government - US_Debt - Missouri - MN - SC - FL - CA - MI - NJ - AK "Kit Bond Touts Effects Of Stimulus Bill He Voted Against." ... "[Missouri Republican Senator Kit Bond voted against the stimulus bill asserting:} “Unfortunately, this bill stimulates the debt, it stimulates the growth of government, but it doesn’t stimulate jobs,” Bond insisted." ... "However, today Bond is touring Missouri to tout the very stimulus plan he railed against. In a press release, Bond boasted about an amendment he included in the bill to provide more funding for affordable housing — and that will create jobs:" "Last week, Bond led a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing an amendment to help provide needy families affordable housing. Bond’s amendment provides $2 billion to fund low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects that have been stalled by the financial credit crisis. As part of the Democrats’ spending bill now signed into law, the Senate unanimously accepted Bond’s provision. […]" "This provision will have a real impact in Missouri, especially for low-income, working families in need of safe and affordable housing. … Bond’s amendment will save more than 700 housing units and create 3,000 new jobs in Missouri." "“This is the type of emergency stimulus spending we should be supporting — programs that will create jobs now and help families,” Bond said." ... "Bond’s “I was against it before I was for it” maneuver at least has local media fooled. Just 24 hours after noting his opposition to the stimulus bill, local news this morning reported that Bond would be touring the state “pushing his plan to create 3,000 jobs in the state and build more than 700 affordable housing units.” Watch the local CBS channel try to keep up with Bond’s flip-flops:" WATCH: "Kit Bond Touts Stimulus Plan He Voted Against." "Bond is not alone in trying to reap the political benefits both from voting against the bill and from bringing much needed funding to his district:" "– [Minnesota Republican Governor] Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), who complained that the “federal government is spending money they don’t have,” told Rachel Maddow he would nevertheless accept funds for Minnesota: “Our view is, if you buy the pizza, it’s OK if you have a slice.”" "– [South Carolina Republican Senator] Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who also campaigned ardently against the bill, said he would nevertheless gladly accept its funds for his state. “You don’t want to be crazy here,” he said." "– [Florida Republican Representative] Rep. John Mica (R-FL) gushed over the bill, which he, too, voted against. “I applaud [Democratic] President Obama’s recognition that high-speed rail should be part of America’s future,” he said in a press release." "– [Alaska Republican Representative] Rep. Don Young (R-AK) boasted that he “won a victory for…Alaska small business owners” in the recovery bill he refused to vote for." "No wonder RNC [Republican National Committee] Chairman Michael Steele declared recently, “You have absolutely no reason — none — to trust our word or our actions at this point.”" "Update [Missouri Republican Representative] Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) boasted about the educational benefits of the recovery act, while [California Republican Representative] Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) said his office "will do what we can to direct as much money as we can." Neither voted for the bill." "Update [Michgan Republican Representative] Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) joins in, praising the stimulus' "generous" incentives for home buyers on his Twitter feed:" "petehoekstra If you know of someone thinking of buying first home, now may be the time.Stimulus incentive is very generous!Up to 8k!Check it out." "UpdateBlueJersey notes adds [New Jersey Republican Representative] Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) to the growing list. After insisting last Friday that the recovery bill "would have exploded our national debt without providing meaningful job growth," Lance toured construction sites in his district yesterday, touting funds that would come from the stimulus bill. "This is a classic example of a "shovel-ready' project," Lance said after the tour." -By Ali Frick -ThinkProgress.org 20090215 John McCain - US_Debt - Economic - Legislation - Obama - Arizona "Dems Fed Up With McCain: "Angry Old Defeated Candidate"." ... ""He is bitter and really angry," Bob Shrum said of [Arizona Republican Senator John] McCain in an interview on Friday. "He is angry at the press, which he thinks is unfair. He is angry at [Democratic President] Obama and angry at the voters. He has gone from being an angry old candidate to being an angry old defeated candidate."" ... ""On Sunday, McCain wouldn't let the fight die, even with the [economic stimulus] legislation through Congress. Appearing on CNN, he described the $787 billion measure as "generational theft" and said that the bill's authors should "start over now and sit down together."" ... ""[A]s other observers pointed out, McCain isn't being entirely consistent." ... """During the Senate debate, 36 of the Senate Republicans voted for an alternative that would have cut taxes over the next decade by $2.5 trillion, [and] reduced the top marginal race to 25 percent," said the Atlantic's Ron Brownstein on "Meet the Press." "For John McCain -- who voted for that alternative of a $2.5 trillion tax cut over the next decade -- to talk about generational theft, I mean, pot meet kettle." -By Sam Stein -HuffingtonPost.com 20081217 Poll - Financial - Consumer - Job - Rent - Federal - Debt - History "New Poll Shows 63% Are Already Hurt by Downturn." ... "The deepening recession has eroded the financial standing and optimism of a broad swath of Americans, nearly two-thirds of whom say that they have been hurt by the downturn and that the country has slipped into long-term economic decline." ... "A new Washington Post-ABC News poll also found that a rapidly increasing share of Americans -- 66 percent, up from just over half a year ago -- are worried about maintaining their standard of living. Nearly two in 10 said they or someone living in their household had lost a job in the past few months, and more than a quarter said they had their pay or hours reduced. And 15 percent said that at some point in the past year they fell behind on their rent or mortgage." ... "The poll captures the widening fallout from the faltering economy that policymakers are struggling to contain. The Federal Reserve yesterday cut its target for the federal funds rate to a range of zero to 0.25 percent, the lowest on record." ... "The poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans support new federal spending to stimulate the economy, and majorities of both Democrats and Republicans back the idea." ... "Twenty-four percent approve of the way [Republican] President Bush is handling the economy, and a similarly paltry 23 percent approve of the broader federal response to the crisis." ... "Democrats, Republicans and independents alike are highly critical of the federal action to address the crisis -- among each group, more than seven in 10 disapprove. In part, the criticisms stem from skepticism that the government has put in place adequate controls to avoid waste and fraud in the use of federal money in the economic recovery effort." (1, 2) -By Michael A. Fletcher and Jon Cohen with contributions by Jennifer Agiesta -WashingtonPost Government - Market - Politics - US_Debt - Technology - Housing "Fed unleashes greatest bubble of all." ... "Like the sorcerer’s apprentice, [Republican President Bush's] Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his predecessor Alan Greenspan have unleashed a series of ever-larger asset bubbles they cannot control." ... "Now the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates to between zero and 0.25 percent, coupled with a promise to keep them there for an extended period, and the threat to conduct even more unconventional operations in the longer-dated Treasury market risks the biggest bubble of all, this time in U.S. government debt." ... "THE ASYMMETRIC EXPERIMENT" ... "Bubble mania is no accident. It is the direct consequence of the Fed’s asymmetric response to shifts in asset prices. Pressed to “lean against the wind” and adopt counter-cyclical interest rate and credit policies in the asset market, senior Fed policymakers have repeatedly demurred." ... "Led by Bernanke and Greenspan, officials have argued it is too hard and subjective to identify bubbles until afterwards, and not the Fed’s job to second-guess asset allocation decisions of professional investors." ... "Even if bubbles could be identified, they argue, pricking them would require swingeing rate rises that would inflict widespread damage on the rest of the economy." ... "Far less damaging to allow asset markets to follow their natural cycle and stand by to cut interest rates sharply, supply liquidity and contain the fallout when the bubble bursts." ... "But the Fed’s asymmetric policy response to rising and falling asset prices (colloquially known as the “Greenspan/Bernanke put”) directly led to much of the excessive risk-taking which has humbled the financial system over the last eighteen months." ... "More importantly, the Fed’s decision to respond to the collapse of the technology and stock market bubble by lowering rates to 1 percent and holding them there for an extended period is now widely accepted as a mistake that contributed to the bond bubble and subsequent housing market boom in the middle of the decade." ... "If the low-rate strategy was a mistake, it was a conscious one." -By John Kemp-Reuters 20081216 Corporate - Government - Christmas - Debt - History - Accounting - Politics - Homeowners - Auto - Military - Space "Bailout payout tops $8 trillion." ... "As the holiday season commences, it’s worth taking stock of the last gift that [Republican] President George W. Bush and the 110th Congress have left for U.S. [United States] taxpayers." ... "It’s a package of about $8.7 trillion dollars’ worth of potential taxpayer commitments for loans, guarantees and other bailout goodies for businesses and distressed homeowners." ... "Amid the tissue paper:" ... "• More than $1.5 trillion in Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. [Corporation] loan guarantees, including a $139 billion assist to the lending arm of General Electric Corp." ... "• $1.8 trillion in cash, tax breaks and loan guarantees doled out from the Treasury Department to taxpayers, financial institutions and credit companies." ... "• $300 billion for homeowners from the Federal Housing Authority." ... "• $25 billion in assistance for auto companies from a program overseen by the Energy Department, which is separate from the bailout proposal that tanked last week in the Senate." ... "• And $5 trillion worth of new money, loan guarantees and loosened lending requirements from the Federal Reserve Bank." ... "According to Bianco Research President James Bianco, who crunched these numbers, that amounts to more government aid and assistance than nine other historic bailouts and big government outlays combined." ... "The New Deal, for instance, cost an estimated $32 billion in its day, which would be about $500 billion in today’s dollars. The Marshall Plan cost about $12.7 billion, which is the equivalent of a paltry $115.3 billion. The Louisiana Purchase? The French got $15 million, which would be worth about $217 billion today." ... "If you take those three items, add in the adjusted costs of the Race to the Moon, the savings and loan crisis, the Korean War, the Iraq war, the Vietnam War and assistance for NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration ], you still get to just $3.92 trillion — not even half of the taxpayers’ exposure today, according to Bianco." -By Jeanne Cummings -Politico.com via -AP 20081212 Secret - Corporate - Government - Politics - US_Debt - Emergency "Fed Refuses to Disclose Recipients of $2 Trillion (Update2)." ... "The Federal Reserve refused a request by Bloomberg News to disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral." ... "Bloomberg filed suit [2008 November] Nov. 7 under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act requesting details about the terms of 11 Fed lending programs, most created during the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression." ... "The Fed responded [2008 December] Dec. 8, saying it’s allowed to withhold internal memos as well as information about trade secrets and commercial information. The institution confirmed that a records search found 231 pages of documents pertaining to some of the requests." ... "“If they told us what they held, we would know the potential losses that the government may take and that’s what they don’t want us to know,” said Carlos Mendez, a senior managing director at New York-based ICP Capital LLC, which oversees $22 billion in assets." ... "The Fed stepped into a rescue role that was the original purpose of the Treasury’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. The central bank loans don’t have the oversight safeguards that Congress imposed upon the TARP [Troubled Asset Relief Program]." ... "Total Fed lending exceeded $2 trillion for the first time Nov. 6. It rose by 138 percent, or $1.23 trillion, in the 12 weeks since Sept. 14, when central bank governors relaxed collateral standards to accept securities that weren’t rated AAA." ... "The Bloomberg lawsuit is Bloomberg LP v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 08-CV-9595, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan)." -By Mark Pittman -Bloomberg 20081210 US - Government - Debt - Money - Safety - Politics - History - Global "Investors buy U.S. debt at zero yield." ... "In the market equivalent of shoveling cash under the mattress, hordes of buyers were so eager on Tuesday to park money in the world's safest investment, United States government debt, that they agreed to accept a zero percent rate of return." ... "The news sent a sobering signal: in these troubled economic times, when people have lost vast amounts on stocks, bonds and real estate, making an investment that offers security but no gain is tantamount to coming out ahead. This extremely cautious approach reflects concerns that a global recession could deepen next year, and continue to jeopardize all types of investments." ... "While this will lower the cost of borrowing for the United States government, economists worry that a widespread hunkering-down could have broader implications that could slow an economic recovery. If investors remain reluctant to put money into stocks and corporate bonds, that could choke off funds that businesses need to keep financing their day-to-day operations." ... "Investors accepted the zero percent rate in the government's auction Tuesday of $30 billion worth of short-term securities that mature in four weeks. Demand was so great even for no return that the government could have sold four times as much." ... "In addition, for a brief moment, investors were willing to take a small loss for holding another ultra-safe security, the already-issued three-month Treasury bill." ... "In these times, it seems, the abnormal has now become acceptable. As America's debt and deficit spiral from a parade of billion dollar bailouts and stimulus packages, fund managers, foreign governments and big retail investors reckon they will get more peace of mind by stashing their cash, rather than putting it toward any of the higher-yielding risk that is entailed in stocks, corporate bonds and consumer debt." ... "The rapid decline in Treasury yields — which since summer have headed toward lows not seen since the end of the World War II — also renders the Federal Reserve less effective, as investors and banks stuff the money that the central bank is pumping into the financial system into Treasuries, rather than fanning it out across the broader economy." ... ""The last time this happened was the Great Depression, when people are willing to accept no return on their money, or possibly even a negative return," said Edward Yardeni, an independent analyst. "If people are so busy during the day just protecting the cash they have, it's not a good sign."" (1, 2) -By Vikas Bajaj and Michael M. Grynbaum -IHT.com US_Debt - Politics - Corporation - Law - History "Fed Weighs Debt Sales of Its Own: Move Presents Challenges: 'Very Close Cousins to Existing Treasury Bills'." ... "The Federal Reserve is considering issuing its own debt for the first time, a move that would give the central bank additional flexibility as it tries to stabilize rocky financial markets." ... "Government debt issuance is largely the province of the Treasury Department, and the Fed already can print as much money as it wants. But as the credit crisis drags on and the economy suffers from recession, Fed officials are looking broadly for new financial tools." ... "Fed officials have approached Congress about the concept, which could include issuing bills or some other form of debt, according to people familiar with the matter." ... "It isn't known whether these preliminary discussions will result in a formal proposal or Fed action. One hurdle: The Federal Reserve Act doesn't explicitly permit the Fed to issue notes beyond currency." ... "At the core of the deliberations is the Fed's balance sheet, which has grown from less than $900 billion to more than $2 trillion since August as it backstops new markets like commercial paper, money-market funds, mortgage-backed securities and ailing companies such as American International Group Inc." ... "... [T]he Fed has funded programs by flooding the financial system with money it created itself -- known in central-banking circles as bank reserves -- and has used the money to make loans and purchase assets." -By Jon Hilsenrath and Damian Paletta -WSJ.com 20081209 US -Government - Debt - Money - Safety - History "Treasury Bills Trade at Negative Rates as Haven Demand Surges." ... "Treasuries rose, pushing rates on the three-month bill negative for the first time, as investors gravitate toward the safety of U.S. government debt amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression." ... "The Treasury sold $27 billion of three-month bills yesterday at a discount rate of 0.005 percent, the lowest since it starting auctioning the securities in 1929. The U.S. also sold $30 billion of four-week bills today at zero percent for the first time since it began selling the debt in 2001." ... "If you invested $1 million in three-month bills at today’s negative discount rate of 0.01 percent, for a price of 100.002556, at maturity you would receive the par value for a loss of $25.56." ... "The world’s biggest financial companies incurred almost $1 trillion in writedowns and credit losses since the start of last year, helping push the major economies into recession." -By Daniel Kruger and Cordell Eddings -Bloomberg ~~~~~~~~

US DEBT Websites TreasuryDirect.gov Debt to the Penny Public Debt Reports FAQ Treasury.gov (redirected links?) Bureau of Public Debt  Debt To the Penny  Debt held by public Intragovernmental holdings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As of 2009/03/20 the US Debt is: $11,040,807,027,558.10 As of 2009/01/20 the US Debt is: $10,626,877,048,913.08  As of 2008/11/25 the US Debt is: $10,654,259,430,730.17 As of 2008/09/25 the US Debt is: $9,945,578,231,981.59 As of 2008/07/09 the US Debt is: $9,493,572,520,818.58 As of 2008/06/06 the US Debt is: $9,405,738,960,230.52 As of 2008/01/22 the US Debt is: $9,191,074,962,157.16 As of 2007/09/06 the US Debt is: $9,009,410,075,859.67 As of 2007/08/16 the US Debt is: $8,967,843,389,213.90 As of 2007/05/25 the US Debt is: $8,816,293,173,064.11 As of 2006/10/18 the US Debt is: $8,540,051,729,781.32 As of 2005/10/31 the US Debt was: $8,015,272,000,177.94  As of 2002/01/22 the US Debt was: $5,924,540,106,802.70 As of 2001/01/22 the US Debt was: $5,728,195,796,181.57 As of 1992/09/30 the US Debt was: $4,064,620,655,521.66  As of 1988/09/30 the US Debt was: $2,602,337,712,041.16 As of 1981/01/31 the US Debt rounded to millions was: $934,073,000,000 US Debt News. American Debt. United States Debt.

$11 Trillion Dollars in debt in March 2009. US Debt News Sources: "Brillig's U.S. National Debt Clock:" 2009/03/24 According to the Census Bureau's Population Clock, the population of the United States is 306,072,976 so each citizen's share of this debt is $36,072.47 The US debt exceeded $10 Trillion Dollars in debt at the end of September 2008. $9 Trillion Dollars in debt at the end of August 2007. Search US Debt News: News Search <US Debt> in: <AllTheWeb-[News]> <AltaVista-[News]> <Google-[News]> <MSN-[News]> Specialty search: <Google's U.S. "Uncle Sam," .gov and .mil>  Search: <US Debt News> in: <Google> <MSN> <Yahoo> Search: <United States Debt News> in: <Google> <MSN> <Yahoo> Search: <American Debt News> in: <Google> <MSN> <Yahoo> Debt Brought to you by the alphabet letter D D !-( ~~~~~~~~~~~

20080921
John McCain - Corporate - Government - Disaster - Politics - US_Debt - Healthcare - Social Security - Rights - Book - 2008 Election
"Naomi Klein: Financial crisis part of Bush 'shock doctrine'." ... "The bailout of Wall Street’s largest players by the federal government is another example of the [Republican President] Bush administration pursuing a corporate agenda at the expense of average Americans, a prominent author argued on Friday." ... "In a Friday night interview on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Naomi Klein said President Bush’s $700 billion proposal to rescue the financial sector stems from a profiteering streak that has dominated the last eight years." ... ""The disaster is far from over," Klein said. "The disaster was on Wall Street and they have moved the disaster to Main Street."" ... "Referring to the bailout, Klein said the "bomb has yet to detonate" and that the real crisis will strike when tax payers are overwhelmed when faced with the debt from the bailouts." ... "According to Klein, the bomb will detonate if Sen. John McCain becomes president and "rationalizes" that it is necessary to privatize government programs like social security and healthcare because neither the government nor Americans can afford them." ... ""The real disaster has yet to come; the real disaster is the debt that is going to explode on American tax payers," Klein said." ... "Klein’s book, "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism," outlines how crises, real or perceived, have been used by governments, especially the United States under George W. Bush, to strong-arm a disoriented citizenry into accepting changes to its rights, and its government, that it wouldn't otherwise accept." -By David Edwards and Andrew McLemore -RawStory.com

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WATCH: Naomi Klein on Republican Bush's "Shock Doctrine"

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20080804
US_Debt - Government - Money - Countrywide Financial Corporation - Real Estate - North Carolina - New York -US - United Kingdom
"Fewest Treasury Traders Since 1960 Hit Taxpayers (Update4)." ... "For the first time since 1960, when it created the network of securities firms obligated to buy and sell Treasury bonds, the U.S. government has the fewest bond traders making markets in its debt and a bigger burden for American taxpayers financing record federal deficits." ... "The number of so-called primary government securities dealers declined to 19 last month when Bank of America Corp., based in Charlotte, North Carolina, acquired the troubled Countrywide Financial Corp. The sale was the climax of dozens of bank failures, triggered by the biggest decline in residential real estate since the Great Depression and the seizing up of credit markets from New York to London [United Kingdom's capital]. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the agent of the U.S. Treasury, plans to shrink the dealers again when JPMorgan Chase & Co. completes its takeover of Bear Stearns Cos." ... "The paucity of primary dealers coincides with the largest borrowing requirement in American history and the acknowledgment by the administration of [Republican] President George W. Bush that the U.S. will finance a budget deficit totaling a record $482 billion next year. When the dealer system began 48 years ago with 18 firms, the U.S. had a $300 million surplus. The group has shrunk from a peak of 46 in 1988. " -By Sandra Hernandez -Bloomberg

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20080729
US_Debt - History - Government - Politics - SD - SC
"Bush to leave a record budget deficit of $482 billion: [Republican President Bush] White House officials say the economy and a bipartisan stimulus package caused the worsening picture for 2009, but Democrats blame Bush's tax cuts and fiscal management." ... "Democrats on Capitol Hill blamed the revised deficit figures on Bush's large tax cuts and freewheeling spending." ... ""If we gave Olympic medals for fiscal irresponsibility, President Bush would take the gold, the silver and the bronze, because he's got the three highest record deficits ever," said [South Dakota Democratic Senator] Sen. Kent Conrad (D-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. "He sets records in every single category: 2009 would be the gold; 2004 the silver; 2008 the bronze."" ... "[South Carolina Democratic Representative] Rep. John M. Spratt Jr. (D-S.C.) noted that Bush inherited a budget surplus from his Democratic predecessor, so the blame for the poor fiscal performance rests with him." ... ""Mr. Bush came to office with the biggest surpluses in history and he will leave office with the biggest deficit in history. That's the bottom line," said Spratt, chairman of the House Budget Committee." -By Maura Reynolds -LAtimes

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20080707
Barack Obama - Faith - Civil Liberties - Law- Economics - History - US_Debt - Iraq - Military - US - 2008 Election
"Why some conservatives are backing Obama." ... "The "Obamacans" that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama used to joke about - Republican apostates who whispered their support for his candidacy - have morphed into a new phenomenon, or syndrome, as detractors like to call it: the Obamacons." ... "These are conservatives who have publicly endorsed the presumptive Democratic nominee, dissidents from the brain trust of think tanks, ex-officials and policy magazines that have fueled the Republican Party since the 1960s." ... ""The untold story of the [Republican President] Bush administration is the deliberate annihilation of the Reaganite, small-government wing of the Republican Party," said Michael Greve, director of the Federalism Project at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. "A lot of people are very bitter about it."" ... "Many conservatives are aghast at the rise in spending and debt under the Bush administration, its expansion of executive power, and what they see as a trampling of civil liberties and a taste for empire." ... "Douglas Kmiec is former chief of the Office of Legal Counsel in the [former Republican Presidents] Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, and now a constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University and a devout Catholic. Kmiec endorsed Obama earlier this year, despite his conviction that Obama "believes in a pretty progressive agenda."" ... "Kmiec said his support deepened after meeting with Obama and other faith leaders last month, during which the busy candidate spent 2 1/2 in a freewheeling discussion with people who differed with him." ... ""I think he's the right person at the right time to re-establish principles of constitutional governance that have been ill treated by the current administration, and to free us from the tar paper that we know is Iraq," Kmiec said, adding that many Republicans privately agree. "I think he's a man in the market for every good idea he can find, and he doesn't care what label it comes with."" ... "David Friedman, the son of late conservative icon and Nobel economist Milton Friedman, has also endorsed Obama." ... "[Conservative Bruce Bartlett:] "People don't understand that there has always been a small but very significant element of conservatives who have been against the war from day one and who, like me, also hate George Bush and think he's the most incompetent president in American history," said Bruce Bartlett, a supply-side economist who coined the term Obamacons. "The few people who are slavishly pro-Republican, live or die, slavishly pro-Bush like the Weekly Standard crowd, have gotten lot more publicity than they deserve."" -By Carolyn Lochhead -SFGate.com

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20080611
Barack Obama - John McCain - Money - Politics - Workers - Retirees - Homeowners - Students - Farmers - Families - US_Debt - Law - Illinois -Arizona -2008 Election
"A Preliminary Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans." [Full Report PDF] ... "Senator [from Illinois and 2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama would permanently extend certain provisions of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts primarily affecting taxpayers with incomes under $250,000; increase the maximum rate on capital gains and qualified dividends; and enact new and expanded targeted tax breaks for workers, retirees, homeowners, savers, students, and new farmers. Senator [from Arizona and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain proposes to extend permanently the AMT "patch" that has prevented most individuals and families with incomes below $200,000 from being affected by the tax, and in our interpretation of his proposal, Senator Obama would do the same." ... "Although both candidates have at times stressed fiscal responsibility, their specific non-health tax proposals would reduce tax revenues by $3.7 trillion (McCain) and $2.7 trillion (Obama) over the next 10 years, or approximately 10 and 7 percent of the revenues scheduled for collection under current law, respectively. Furthermore, as in the case of [Republican] President Bush's tax cuts, the true cost of McCain's policies may be masked by phase-ins and sunsets (scheduled expiration dates) that reduce the estimated revenue costs. If his policies were fully phased in and permanent, the ten-year cost would rise to $4.1 trillion, or about 11 percent of total revenues." -TaxPolicyCenter.org

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20080523
• John McCain - US_Debt - Money - Politics - Legislator - Military - Families - Housing - Construction - Iraq - Israel - Egypt - Jordan - Arizona - US - 2008 Election - Noteworthy - "McCain's Fantasy War on Earmarks." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain boasts that he can save $100 billion a year "immediately" by eliminating the so-called earmarks that legislators attach to spending bills to finance pet projects, usually in their home state. But he has refused to say exactly which projects he would cut, and his estimates of the amount of money that is being spent on earmarks have been challenged by independent experts." ... "The Facts:" ... "The Arizona senator is promising to balance the budget by the end of his first term, while simultaneously extending the [Republican] George W. Bush tax cuts, introducing billions of dollars of new tax cuts of his own, and remaining in Iraq as long as is necessary to stabilize that country. Asked how this miracle will be accomplished, McCain told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News This Week on April 20 that he could come up with $100 billion "tomorrow" by vetoing pork-barrel spending bills." ... "There are a number of problems with this magical budgetary balancing act. First of all, the suspiciously round $100 billion figure is largely a figment of the McCain campaign's imagination. I have not been able to find a single independent budget expert to vouch for it. McCain's economics adviser, Doug Holtz-Eakin, will not say how the campaign arrived at the figure, other than that it is an extrapolation from various studies, including a 2006 study by the Congressional Research Service available here [PDF]." ... "However, much of this money is tied to items such as foreign aid to countries like Israel, Egypt, and Jordan, that McCain says he will not touch." ... "By most definitions of the term, the amount of money spent on earmarks is much lower than the CRS study. The Office for Management and the Budget came up with a figure for $16.9 billion in the 2008 appropriation bills. Taxpayers for Commonsense, an independent watchdog group that focuses on wasteful spending, identified $18.3 billion worth of earmarks in the 2008 bills, a 23 per cent cut from a record $23.6 billion set in 2005 [when Republicans controlled Congress]." ... "The figure includes such items as $4 billion for the [United States] U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which could not be eliminated without halting hundreds of construction projects around the country. Another big chunk goes to military construction, including housing for servicemen and their families, which McCain has also promised not to touch." ... "McCain's talk about eliminating $100 billion a year in earmarks is largely fantasy." ... "To use a phrase coined by [Republican] George H.W. Bush, this is "voodoo economics," based more on wishful thinking than on hard data or carefully considered policy proposals." [The Washington Post gives McCain's accounting numbers four Pinochio's out of a possible four, calling the statements by Candidate McCain "Whoppers."] -WashingtonPost

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20080418
• John McCain - DEBT - Accounting - Politics - Government - Military - US - Iraq - Afghanistan - 2008 Election - "McCain's $3.3 Trillion Tax Cut, Budget Pledge at Odds (Update3)." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's plan to cut taxes and balance the budget wins praise from fellow Republicans. Economists and nonpartisan analysts say his numbers don't add up." ... "McCain's proposal, outlined April 15, would extend [Republican] President George W. Bush's tax cuts, reduce the top corporate rate, repeal the alternative minimum tax and double exemptions for dependents. Price: $3.3 trillion by the end of a President McCain's second term in 2017, according to figures from his campaign and the Treasury." ... "Robert Bixby, executive director of the Washington-based Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan group that advocates budget restraint, said ``the huge imbalance'' in McCain's plan ``is that the tax cuts are specific and large and the spending cuts are small and vague.''" ... "Once, McCain was a deficit hawk, Bixby said, but ``strange things happen when people run for president.''" ... "McCain's spending cuts, combined with increased revenue from economic growth, total $1.5 trillion over eight years, leaving a $1.8 trillion net increase to the national debt." ... "Two Washington research groups said McCain's plan would cost more. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated his tax cuts would total $5 trillion over a two-term presidency. The Tax Policy Center , run jointly by the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute, said they would cost at least $5.7 trillion." ... "McCain's plan doesn't address the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which now total more than $12 billion a month. [$144 billion per year over eight years is potentially $1.152 trillion of additional US debt.]" -By Ryan J. Donmoyer and Indira Lakshmanan -Bloomberg

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  [TaxPolicyCenter.org "Scoring McCain’s Tax Proposals." ... "Even with the loophole closers, these proposals [made by 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] would reduce federal revenues by about $5.7 trillion over ten years if they could be enacted immediately." ... "Adding the cost of the corporate tax cuts, the total comes to $8 trillion over 10 years ($7.6 trillion starting in FY10). That scenario would reduce federal tax revenues by $780 billion in FY2012—$140 billion more than the entire defense budget in that year." ... "Cuts the size of those he [McCain] proposes will require slashing discretionary spending and entitlements, and probably even reining in defense spending. Small wonder he has backed away from his earlier pledge to balance the budget—meaning that these tax cuts, like the ones signed by President Bush, will be paid for by our children." [Accounting calculations detailed in:]  "Elements of Senator John McCain's Proposed Tax Plans, Impact on Tax Revenue, 2009-18." (.XLS File) -By Len Burman and Greg Leiserson -TaxPolicyCenter.org]

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20080321
• Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - John McCain - Debt - US - Iraq - Military - Illinois - West Virginia - Indiana - Car - Oil - Household - 2008 Election - "Obama Links Effects of War Costs to Fragility in the Economy." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator Barack Obama on Thursday blamed the fragile economy on “careless and incompetent execution” of the Iraq war, imploring voters in this swing state [of West Virginia] to consider the trickle-down economic consequences of the war as they choose a successor to [Republican] President Bush." ... "“When you’re spending over $50 to fill up your car because the price of oil is four times what it was before Iraq, you’re paying a price for this war,” Mr. Obama said to an audience at the University of Charleston [in West Virginia]. “When Iraq is costing each household about $100 a month, you’re paying a price for this war.”" ... "“No matter what the costs, no matter what the consequences, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain seems determined to carry out a third Bush term,” Mr. Obama said. “That’s an outcome America can’t afford. Because of the Bush-McCain policies, our debt has ballooned.”" ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton in Indiana:] “We spend $12 billion a month in Iraq, and that does affect the economy,” Mrs. Clinton said. “That’s one of the reasons we’ve gone into more and more debt. We’ve got to begin not only to withdraw our troops, but bring that money back home. We need to put that money to work here in Indiana.”" -By Jeff Zeleny and Michael Cooper with contributions by Patrick Healy -NYTimes 

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20080222
• John McCain - Corporate - Politics - Lawmaker - Jets - US_Debt - US - Iraq - Military - Children's - Health-Care - Barack Obama - 2008 Election - "Transcript: Howard Dean On John McCain And The Republican 'Culture Of Corruption'." ... "Q: So there is big news about [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain -- the story that is in the New York Times, raising questions about his relationship with a lobbyist. This is a story the McCain people are saying is unfair and untrue. What do you think?"
"[Democratic National Committee chairman Howard] Dean: I have no idea whether the affair story is true or not, and I don't care. What I do care about is John McCain -- and this has been well-documented -- is talking all the time about being a reformer and a maverick, and in fact, he has taken thousands of dollars from corporations, ridden on their corporate jets, and then turned around and tried to do favors for them and get projects approved. He has tons of lobbyists on his staff. This is a guy who is very close to the lobbyist community, a guy who has been documented again and again by taking contributions and then doing favors for it. This is not a guy who is a reformer. This is a guy who has been in Washington for 25 years and wants to give us four more years of the same, and I don't think we need that."
"Q: So are you saying that McCain, by virtue of what is spelled out in this story, has somehow suffered a hit in terms of his own legitimacy on the campaign finance and ethics issue?"

"Dean: Yes, he certainly has. This goes all the way back to the Keating Five Scandal and the S & L [Savings and Loan] scandals, where he took a hundred thousand donations, rode on corporate jets and then intervened on Charles Keating's behalf -- and again and again we see this. We even saw -- it's so hypocritical -- we even saw that he is trying to harass [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama about whether he's going to take public financing in the campaign, and he forewent his own public financing in the primaries after getting a loan, based on the idea that he might take public financing." ... "This is not a guy who is a reformer. He talks about change, and he makes a big deal about not being like [Republican President] Bush when in fact he is Bush. He voted for Bush's tax cuts after saying he didn't, and has been responsible for a $6 trillion national debt that our children are going to have to pay. He thinks we ought to stay in Iraq for 100 years. He thought it was great that the president vetoed health care for our kids under 18. This is four more years of George Bush, and I don't think the American people are going to buy it."

 -NationalJournal/OnAir

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20080203
• Poor - Children - Health - Energy - Money - Politics - Government - Debt - "President's Spending Plan Would Rival 2004 Deficit." ... "The more than $3 trillion federal budget for 2009 that [Republican President] Bush will unveil is his final opportunity to shape the priorities of the government before leaving office a year from now." ... "But even in the unlikely event that he were to get his way, the budget deficit would jump sharply, from $163 billion in 2007 to about $400 billion in 2008 and 2009 -- partly the result of the new economic stimulus plan. Such deficits would rival the record deficit of $412 billion of 2004 [under the Republican controlled Congress], though administration allies argue that shortfalls of that size now represent a smaller share of the overall economy and are thus more manageable." ... "Alice M. Rivlin, who served [Democratic] President Bill Clinton as budget director, pointed out that [Republican President] Bush "inherited a very large surplus," but his "legacy from a fiscal point of view is having blown an opportunity to ameliorate the long-run budget deficits."" ... "Among the reductions are more than $1 billion to programs run by the Administration for Children and Families, including a $280 million hit to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a block grant program that helps the poor pay heating and air-conditioning bills." ... "The budget plan argues for a $500 million reduction in the Social Services Block Grant program, which helps states protect children from neglect and abuse, and pay for day care, adoption, health services, foster care and other services for children and families." ... "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would lose more than $430 million, including $27 million from its efforts to detect and control infectious diseases, and $28 million from chronic disease prevention and health promotion. A $301 million program that trains 4,700 pediatricians and pediatric specialists at children's teaching hospitals also would be eliminated, at a time when pediatric specialties, such as rheumatology and pulmonology, face critical shortages." (1, 2) -By Michael Abramowitz and Jonathan Weisman with contributions by Maria Glod, Spencer Hsu, Christopher Lee, Josh White and Robin Wright -WashingtonPost

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20080123
• US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Military - Politics - US_Debt - Government - "U.S. war costs in Iraq up-budget report." ... "War funding, which averaged about $93 billion a year from 2003 through 2005, rose to $120 billion in 2006 and $171 billion in 2007 and [Republican] President George W. Bush has asked for $193 billion in 2008, the nonpartisan office [Congressional Budget Office: CBO] wrote." ... "Since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Congress has written checks for $691 billion to pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and such related activities as Iraq reconstruction, the CBO said." ... "Of the total, the CBO estimated that $440 billion had been spent on fighting in Iraq launched with the goal of ousting President Saddam Hussein from power and securing weapons of mass destruction that were never found." ... "All of the Iraq and Afghanistan war money -- about $11 billion a month -- is effectively being put on a government credit card at a time when U.S. [United States] government debt has skyrocketed to more than $9 trillion, up from around $5.6 trillion when [Republican President] Bush took office in January 2001." ... "Bush has opposed paying the cost of waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan with tax increases or other specific offsets." (1, 2, 3) -By Richard Cowan with contributions by Howard Goller and Doina Chiacu -Reuters 

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20071203
• United States - Debt - Government - Fiscal - Politics - People - Parents - Accounting - History - Homeowners - Japan - China - Britain - Saudi Arabia - Oil - Countries - "National Debt Grows $1 Million a Minute." ... "Like a ticking time bomb, the national debt is an explosion waiting to happen. It's expanding by about $1.4 billion a day -- or nearly $1 million a minute." ... "What's that mean to you?" ... "It means almost $30,000 in debt for each man, woman, child and infant in the United States." ... "Even if you've escaped the recent housing and credit crunches and are coping with rising fuel prices, you may still be headed for economic misery, along with the rest of the country. That's because the government is fast straining resources needed to meet interest payments on the national debt, which stands at a mind-numbing $9.13 trillion." ... "And like homeowners who took out adjustable-rate mortgages, the government faces the prospect of seeing this debt -- now at relatively low interest rates -- rolling over to higher rates, multiplying the financial pain." ... "The national debt -- the total accumulation of annual budget deficits -- is up from $5.7 trillion when [Republican] President Bush took office in January 2001 and it will top $10 trillion [$10,000,000,000,000.00] sometime right before or right after he leaves in January 2009." ... "Foreign governments and investors now hold some $2.23 trillion -- or about 44 percent -- of all publicly held U.S. debt. That's up 9.5 percent from a year earlier." ... "Japan is first with $586 billion, followed by China ($400 billion) and Britain ($244 billion). Saudi Arabia and other oil-exporting countries account for $123 billion, according to the Treasury." ... "Democrats are blaming the runup in deficit spending on [Republican President] Bush and his Republican allies who controlled Congress for the first six years of his presidency." (1, 2, 3) -By Tom Raum -AP via -ChicagoTribune 

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20071114
• Money - Politics - School - Healthcare - US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Military - Christmas - National_Debt - Maryland - "Bush vetoes domestic spending bill: His first rejection of an appropriations measure steps up his budget battle with congressional Democrats, who deride as hypocritical his complaints about the price tag." ... "Intensifying his battle with Congress over federal spending, [Republican] President Bush on Tuesday vetoed an appropriations bill for the first time, rejecting $150.7 billion in spending for school aid, healthcare and other domestic programs." ... "But as he complained about the cost of that bill, which would have increased spending on these programs by 4.3% over last year, Bush signed a $471-billion defense appropriations bill that pushed up military spending by more than 9.5%." ... "And he urged Congress to quickly appropriate $196 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." ... ""Congress' responsibility is clear: It should not go home for the Christmas holidays without giving our troops on the front lines the funds they need to succeed," Bush told business leaders in southern Indiana after excoriating Democrats for mismanaging the federal budget." ... "The president's veto and his complaints were greeted with derision by congressional Democrats, who were quick to point out Bush's six-year record of approving unbalanced budgets passed by Republican Congresses." ... ""It is patently absurd that President Bush, whose irresponsible policies instigated record budget deficits and added more than $3 trillion to the national debt, now wants to pretend that he is somehow an exemplar of fiscal responsibility," said House Majority Leader [and Maryland Democratic Representative] Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.)." (1, 2) -By Noam N. Levey and James Gerstenzang -LAtimes 

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20070912
• Noteworthy - Government - Debt - Legislation - Politics - 2008 Election - "Senate panel okays $850 billion debt increase." ... "The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday approved an $850 billion increase in U.S. borrowing authority to $9.815 trillion in order to avoid a default as the government nears its credit limit of $8.965 trillion." ... "The amount approved by the finance panel would allow the government to continue borrowing into 2009, well after next year's presidential and congressional elections [in 2008]." -Reuters via -ABCNEWS.com

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20070906
• Noteworthy - Government - Debt - Money - Accounting - Politics - "Brother, Can You Spare $9 Trillion? Mark Knoller On The Nation's Historic, And Rising, Debt." ... "Few took notice, but for the first time in U.S. history last Friday, the national debt hit an all-time high of $9 trillion." ... "To be exact, the total liabilities of the U.S. Government hit $9,005,648,561,262.70, according to the Bureau of the Public Debt at the Treasury Department." ... "But Mr. [Republican President] Bush almost never mentions the national debt. On the day he took office, the debt stood at $5.727 trillion. That means it has increased by 57 percent on his watch. So far." -By Mark Knoller -CBSNews 

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20070809
• US - Global - Iraq - Military - Money - US_Debt - Calif - "Bush May Try to Cut Corporate Tax Rates: President Cites Need To Compete Globally." ... "[Republican] President Bush said yesterday that he is considering a fresh plan to cut tax rates for U.S. corporations to make them more competitive around the world, an initiative that could further inflame a battle with the Democratic Congress over spending and taxes and help define the remainder of his tenure." ... "The focus on economic issues on Bush's last day in Washington before leaving town today for most of the rest of the month reflected a White House strategy to confront Democrats on tax and spending issues." ... "Democrats quickly returned fire, noting that Bush inherited a surplus that turned into a deficit and that he never vetoed a spending bill during the six years that Republicans controlled Capitol Hill, even as the budget grew by 50 percent." ... ""After six years of reckless spending in Washington, President Bush is the last person who should brag about fiscal responsibility," said [California Democratic Representative] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). She accused the president of misrepresenting Democratic spending plans, which she said come in lower than his and have received some Republican support. And she said Bush wants "to spend $2,800 each second . . . to keep our troops in the middle of a civil war in Iraq."" -By Peter Baker with contributions by David S. Hilzenrath and Lori Montgomery -WashingtonPost 

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20070529
• US_Debt - Government - Military - Seniors - Money - Accounting - Politics - "Rules 'hiding' trillions in debt: Liability $516,348 per U.S. household." ... "The federal government recorded a $1.3 trillion loss last year — far more than the official $248 billion deficit —when corporate-style accounting standards are used, a USA TODAY analysis shows." ... "The loss reflects a continued deterioration in the finances of Social Security and government retirement programs for civil servants and military personnel. The loss — equal to $11,434 per household — is more than Americans paid in income taxes in 2006." ... "Modern accounting requires that corporations, state governments and local governments count expenses immediately when a transaction occurs, even if the payment will be made later." ... "The federal government does not follow the rule, so promises for Social Security and Medicare don't show up when the government reports its financial condition." ... "Bottom line: Taxpayers are now on the hook for a record $59.1 trillion in liabilities, a 2.3% increase from 2006." -By Dennis Cauchon -USATODAY 

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20060510
• US_Debt - Government - Money - "GOP Reaches Deal on Tax Cuts: $70 Billion Measure Would Extend Breaks." ... "But with the budget deficit still expected to exceed $300 billion this year, despite a strong economy, opponents say the government cannot afford to add $70 billion more [in Republican tax cuts] over the next five years." ... "Even though the dividend and capital gains tax cuts are not set to expire until 2008, Republicans say extending them now through 2010 is vital to preserve economic stability and maintain a robust investment climate that has pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to near-record heights." ... "Critics maintain that those tax cuts have overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy, while budget cuts target programs for the poor to close a deficit created largely by tax cuts totaling nearly $2 trillion since Bush took office." (1, 2) -By Jonathan Weisman and Paul Blustein -WashingtonPost 

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  "How Much Would You Save  Under the Plan?"

  

Income, in  2005 dollars $10,000-20,000 $20,000-30,000 $30,000-40,000 $40,000-50,000 $50,000-75,000 $75,000-100,000 $100,000-200,000 $200,000-500,000 $500,000-1 million More than $1 million

Average tax saving $2 9 16 46 110 403 1,388 4,499 5,562 41,977

 

SOURCE: Tax Policy Center via -WashingtonPost

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20060509
• US_Debt - Military - Health - Money - Politics - "Another Possible Bump to the Debt Ceiling." ... "A $2.7 trillion budget plan pending before the House would raise the federal debt ceiling to nearly $10 trillion, less than two months after Congress last raised the federal government's borrowing limit." ... "The provision -- buried on page 121 of the 151-page budget blueprint -- serves as a backdrop to congressional action this week. House leaders hope to try once again to pass a budget plan for fiscal 2007, a month after a revolt by House Republican moderates and Appropriations Committee members forced leaders to pull the plan." ... "Leaders also hope to pass a package of tax-cut extensions that would cost the Treasury $70 billion over the next five years. They would then turn Thursday to a $513 billion defense policy bill that would block President Bush's request to raise health-care fees and co-payments for service members and their families." -By Jonathan Weisman and Shailagh Murray -WashingtonPost 

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20060420
• US - China - Government - US_Debt - Military - 2008 Election - Ind. - "Debt Weakens U.S. Hand on China: Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh Sounds Alarm on Debt and Dependency." ... ""There is no question that our indebtedness to China weakens America's hand," Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., told ABC News. "Our negotiating leverage with China on trade issues and Iran is severely limited by the amount of debt they hold."" ... "Bayh's prescription for cutting the deficit is no more detailed than that of his presidential [2008 election] rivals. He wants to get rid of earmarks, collect unpaid taxes and stop giving "endless" tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans." ... "What makes Bayh's approach to the deficit different, however, is his gubernatorial record and the way he frames the deficit as a security issue." ... "As governor of Indiana for eight years, Bayh balanced the budget, cut taxes and piled up a $1.6 billion surplus." (1, 2, 3) -By Teddy Davis with contributions by Dan Nechita -AP via -ABCNEWS.com 

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20060316
• US_Debt - Money - Law - Politics - "Senate votes debt limit hike to $8.965 trillion." ... "The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a $781 billion increase in U.S. borrowing authority aimed at averting a possible government default on debt this month." ... "The Senate voted 52-48 to raise the federal debt limit to $8.965 trillion. The measure, the fourth time the cap has been raised since 2002, now goes to U.S. President George W. Bush for signing into law." -By Richard Cowan -Reuters 

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20060207
• US - Foreign - US_Debt - Education - Health - Money - Politics - Military - ND - "Bush's Budget Sparks Bipartisan Protest." ... "The administration defended President Bush's $2.77 trillion budget plan on Tuesday against congressional attacks that the cuts it sought to deal with exploding budget deficits would unfairly harm government efforts in education, health care and farm programs." ... "Democrats said Bush's proposed budget for Fiscal 2007, beginning Oct. 1, was seriously understating spending that will be needed to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and did not include the billions of dollars needed in future years to make sure the alternative minimum tax designed for the wealthy does not pinch more and more middle class taxpayers." ... "Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., produced charts showing that the amount of federal government debt held by foreigners before Bush became president totaled $1 trillion and now in the first five years of his administration has more than doubled."  -AP via -CBSNews 

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20051114
• US - World - Mexico - US_Debt - Economy - "Greenspan says trade deficit may prove costly." ... "Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Monday that foreign investors likely will tire of bankrolling the bloated U.S. trade deficit but the economy's flexibility should help temper any fallout." ... "Greenspan's remarks, delivered via video link to a conference in Mexico, referred to the broadest measure of U.S. trade, the current account deficit, which swelled to a record $668 billion last year. The shortfall is financed mostly by foreign investors." -By Jeannine Aversa -AP via -USATODAY 

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20051103
• US_Debt. - Government - Money - "Senate defeats budget plan challenges: House panel moves ahead with spending cuts." ... "The Senate on Thursday turned back a handful of challenges to a closely-watched budget plan, passing a Republican-backed package estimated to produce net savings of around $36 billion over five years." ... "The federal budget deficit is expected to total $1.6 trillion over the five-year budget window. In fiscal 2006, which began Oct. 1, the Senate measures are expected to cut spending by $6 billion, while the deficit is projected to total more than $300 billion." ... "Congressional Republicans plan to move a tax-cut package that would reduce revenues by $70 billion over five years once they've wrapped up the spending package." -By William L. Watts -MarketWatch 

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• US_Debt. - Government - Politics - "Congress is ignoring looming problems, experts say." ... "Even though the White House and Congress pledge to trim $39 billion to $50 billion in spending over the next five years, that's chickenfeed. The government spends more than $2.5 trillion every year." ... "Unfunded liabilities include everything from public debt to promised Medicare and Social Security benefits. In 2000 they totaled $20.4 trillion. By 2004, after President Bush and Congress increased spending and cut taxes, they reached $43.3 trillion." ... "When the government next reports these numbers on Dec. 15, the total is expected to reach $46 trillion to $50 trillion." ... "How much is $50 trillion? It's about $166,000 for each of the almost 300 million Americans." ... "The gross national debt is now more than $8 trillion." -By Kevin G. Hall -Knight Ridder via -MercuryNews 

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20050315
• - US_Debt. - "Under Criticism, Greenspan Defends Backing Bush Tax Cuts." ... "Mr. Greenspan, who has come under fire from Democrats for supporting President Bush's goal of partly privatizing Social Security, said he supported Mr. Bush's tax cuts because almost all budget analysts were forecasting trillions of dollars in surpluses that never materialized." ... "As events turned out, federal deficits rose as tax revenues plunged for three years in a row and spending grew on everything from war costs in Afghanistan and Iraq to education and homeland security. What was expected to be a $5.6 trillion surplus by 2011 is now expected to be at least a $4 trillion deficit by 2015 if Mr. Bush's tax cuts are made permanent." -By Edmund L. Andrews -NYTimes

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20040130
• -  - "Cost estimates rise to $540 billion for Medicare plan." ... "The new Medicare drug benefit will cost about 35 percent more than Congress anticipated, helping to kick the federal budget deficit up to a record $500 billion next year, according to officials familiar with the fiscal 2005 budget that President Bush is to release Monday." ... "The prescription drug plan, which will not be fully in effect until 2006, will cost about $540 billion over 10 years, instead of the $396 billion projected in the law that Congress approved late last year, said a government official and private-sector economists who have been briefed on the budget." -By Susan Milligan -Boston/Globe 

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20040128
• - "Deficit forecast collides with Bush's plans: Projections of $477 billion budget gap sharpen debate over extending tax cuts." ... "This year's deficit will be a record in dollar terms, at $477 billion, according to CBO. That's equal to about 4.5 percent of the nation's gross domestic product." -By Peter Grier -CSMonitor

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20040126
• "Federal Deficit Is Expected to Reach $477 Billion For '04." ... "The Congressional Budget Office said it expects the federal government to run a $477 billion deficit in fiscal year 2004 -- the largest ever in terms of dollars." ... "The CBO also warned Monday that the cumulative deficit that will accrue between 2005 and 2014 will hit $1.9 trillion, and this figure doesn't include President Bush's proposal to make his tax cuts permanent." -WSJ.com -DJ via -Quicken.com 

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20040107
• -  -  - "IMF Researchers: US Budget Gaps Endanger Global Economy." ... "Economists at the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday expressed alarm at growing U.S. budget deficits, saying continued deficits could hurt the global economy by roiling currency markets and driving up interest rates." ... "In a report on U.S. budget outlook, IMF researchers described the state of government finances as "perilous" in the long run and urged Congress and the White House to take steps to quickly rein in the deficits. Although federal tax cuts and spending increases since 2001 bolstered the global economy in the short run, the report said "large U.S. fiscal deficits also pose significant risks for the rest of the world."" -By Joseph Rebello -WSJ.com -DJ via -Quicken.com 

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20031129
• -  - "Editorial: Big spenders/Bush & Co. remortgage nation." ... "Someone recently called President Bush "the mother of all big spenders." It wasn't Howard Dean or any of the other Democratic presidential candidates. It wasn't a Democratic member of Congress. It was fiscal analysts for the conservative-libertarian Cato Institute." ... "Right now the total accumulated federal debt stands at $6.9 trillion. Over the next decade, Bush's policies, if not adjusted by either raising taxes or cutting spending, or both, will almost double that debt. Goldman Sachs, a prominent Wall Street" -StarTribune 

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20030715
• - 2004 ELECTION - "Deficit outlook soars to $455B." ... "The Bush administration estimated Tuesday that the federal budget deficit will reach a record $455 billion this year, 50% larger than it predicted just five months ago." ... "The acknowledgement touched off a war of words sure to be fought through the 2004 elections. The White House noted that its new forecast, including a $475 billion deficit in 2004, represents a smaller percentage of the nation's economy, or gross domestic product, than during the Reagan administration in the 1980s. Democrats warned of even larger deficits to come once the costs of occupying Iraq are included." -By William M. Welch and Laurence McQuillan -USATODAY 

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20030429
• - "Treasury: Unless Congress raises debt cap, U.S. might default." ... "The Treasury Department says the United States could face the prospect of not being able to pay its bills in late May unless Congress raises the government's borrowing authority, now capped at $6.4 trillion." ... "The Treasury Department says the United States could face the prospect of not being able to pay its bills in late May unless Congress raises the government's borrowing authority, now capped at $6.4 trillion." -By Jeannine Aversa -AP via  -SFGate.com 

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HavenWorks.com/us/debt/#history US Debt News

Top

"The first fiscal year for the U.S. Government started Jan. 1, 1789. Congress changed the beginning of the fiscal year from Jan. 1 to Jul. 1 in 1842 and finally from Jul. 1 to Oct. 1 in 1977 where it remains today"
via: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt.htm previously: http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm

SOURCE:  BUREAU OF THE PUBLIC DEBT

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US Debt To the Penny:

DATE of           Total Public US Debt       US Debt Held by the
 US Debt:           Outstanding:               Public:
05/25/2007        $8,816,293,173,064.11      $4,968,043,161,334.62

                                             Intragovernmental
                                              Holdings of US Debt:
                                             $3,848,250,011,729.49

09/30/2006        $8,506,973,899,215.23

05/08/2006        $8,361,088,635,034.39
05/05/2006        $8,357,004,387,013.42
05/04/2006        $8,355,169,281,082.87
05/03/2006        $8,359,417,405,652.46
05/02/2006        $8,365,365,674,396.50
05/01/2006        $8,351,568,193,125.12

04/10/2006        $8,402,073,299,705.08
04/07/2006        $8,398,801,893,932.15
04/06/2006        $8,393,742,553,848.46
04/05/2006        $8,388,876,683,304.95
04/04/2006        $8,388,195,236,701.49
04/03/2006        $8,377,471,102,607.82

03/31/2006        $8,371,156,293,376.33

02/28/2006        $8,269,885,515,386.04

02/13/2006        $8,205,376,724,587.34
02/10/2006        $8,205,235,760,076.45
02/09/2006        $8,205,718,977,047.85
02/08/2006        $8,198,034,722,370.24
02/07/2006        $8,201,608,558,623.45
02/06/2006        $8,197,590,334,157.11
02/03/2006        $8,195,544,127,376.07
02/02/2006        $8,198,626,872,332.20
02/01/2006        $8,183,138,191,456.56

01/31/2006        $8,196,070,437,599.52
01/30/2006        $8,186,710,462,276.89
01/27/2006        $8,190,374,899,635.75
01/26/2006        $8,190,567,748,779.48
01/25/2006        $8,181,906,259,395.82
01/24/2006        $8,185,315,076,347.87
01/23/2006        $8,174,270,999,692.73
01/20/2006        $8,175,743,292,992.87
01/19/2006        $8,176,948,650,558.59
01/18/2006        $8,173,852,299,316.96
01/17/2006        $8,170,524,286,973.93
01/13/2006        $8,158,672,995,833.87
01/12/2006        $8,159,084,910,068.58
01/11/2006        $8,161,933,710,814.20
01/10/2006        $8,165,647,324,627.69
01/09/2006        $8,160,257,013,544.35
01/06/2006        $8,161,507,578,194.35
01/05/2006        $8,160,320,491,591.57
01/04/2006        $8,165,858,995,532.37
01/03/2006        $8,153,881,581,212.99

US Debt: Prior Months

01/31/2006        $8,196,070,437,599.52
12/30/2005        $8,170,424,541,313.62
11/30/2005        $8,092,322,205,720.65
10/31/2005        $8,027,123,404,214.36

US Debt: Prior Fiscal Years

09/30/2005   $7,932,709,661,723.50
09/30/2004   $7,379,052,696,330.32
09/30/2003   $6,783,231,062,743.62
09/30/2002   $6,228,235,965,597.16
09/28/2001   $5,807,463,412,200.06

09/29/2000   $5,674,178,209,886.86
09/30/1999   $5,656,270,901,615.43
09/30/1998   $5,526,193,008,897.62
09/30/1997   $5,413,146,011,397.34
09/30/1996   $5,224,810,939,135.73
09/29/1995   $4,973,982,900,709.39
09/30/1994   $4,692,749,910,013.32
09/30/1993   $4,411,488,883,139.38

09/30/1992   $4,064,620,655,521.66
09/30/1991   $3,665,303,351,697.03
09/28/1990   $3,233,313,451,777.25
09/29/1989   $2,857,430,960,187.32
 

SOURCE:  BUREAU OF THE PUBLIC DEBT

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Historical Debt.

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US Historical Debt. Historical US Debt.
Bureau of the Public Debt : Historical Debt Outstanding - Annual
 * Rounded to Millions

09/30/1988   $2,602,337,712,041.16
09/30/1987   $2,350,276,890,953.00
09/30/1986   $2,125,302,616,658.42
12/31/1985   $1,945,941,616,459.88
12/31/1984   $1,662,966,000,000.00     *
12/31/1983   $1,410,702,000,000.00     *
12/31/1982   $1,197,073,000,000.00     *
12/31/1981   $1,028,729,000,000.00     *

12/31/1980     $930,210,000,000.00     *
12/31/1979     $845,116,000,000.00     *
12/29/1978     $789,207,000,000.00     *
12/30/1977     $718,943,000,000.00     *

12/31/1976     $653,544,000,000.00     *
12/31/1975     $576,649,000,000.00     *
12/31/1974     $492,665,000,000.00     *
12/31/1973     $469,898,039,554.70

12/29/1972     $449,298,066,119.00
12/31/1971     $424,130,961,959.95
12/31/1970     $389,158,403,690.26
12/31/1969     $368,225,581,254.41
12/31/1968     $358,028,625,002.91
12/29/1967     $344,663,009,745.18
12/30/1966     $329,319,249,366.68
12/31/1965     $320,904,110,042.04
12/31/1964     $317,940,472,718.38
12/31/1963     $309,346,845,059.17
12/31/1962     $303,470,080,489.27
12/29/1961     $296,168,761,214.92
12/30/1960     $290,216,815,241.68
12/31/1959     $290,797,771,717.63
12/31/1958     $282,922,423,583.87
12/31/1957     $274,897,784,290.72
12/31/1956     $276,627,527,996.11
12/30/1955     $280,768,553,188.96
12/31/1954     $278,749,814,391.33
12/31/1953     $275,168,120,129.39
06/30/1953     $266,071,061,638.57
06/30/1952     $259,105,178,785.43
06/29/1951     $255,221,976,814.93
06/30/1950     $257,357,352,351.04
 

06/30/1949     $252,770,359,860.33
06/30/1948     $252,292,246,512.99
06/30/1947     $258,286,383,108.67
06/28/1946     $269,422,099,173.26
06/30/1945     $258,682,187,409.93
06/30/1944     $201,003,387,221.13
06/30/1943     $136,696,090,329.90
06/30/1942      $72,422,445,116.22
06/30/1941      $48,961,443,535.71
06/29/1940      $42,967,531,037.68
06/30/1939      $40,439,532,411.11
06/30/1938      $37,164,740,315.45
06/30/1937      $36,424,613,732.29
06/30/1936      $33,778,543,493.73
06/29/1935      $28,700,892,624.53
06/30/1934      $27,053,141,414.48
06/30/1933      $22,538,672,560.15
06/30/1932      $19,487,002,444.13
06/30/1931      $16,801,281,491.71
06/30/1930      $16,185,309,831.43
06/29/1929      $16,931,088,484.10
06/30/1928      $17,604,293,201.43
06/30/1927      $18,511,906,931.85
06/30/1926      $19,643,216,315.19
06/30/1925      $20,516,193,887.90
06/30/1924      $21,250,812,989.49
06/30/1923      $22,349,707,365.36
06/30/1922      $22,963,381,708.31
06/30/1921      $23,977,450,552.54
07/01/1920      $25,952,456,406.16
07/01/1919      $27,390,970,113.12
07/01/1918      $14,592,161,414.00
07/01/1917       $5,717,770,279.52
07/01/1916       $3,609,244,262.16
07/01/1915       $3,058,136,873.16
07/01/1914       $2,912,499,269.16
07/01/1913       $2,916,204,913.66
07/01/1912       $2,868,373,874.16
07/01/1911       $2,765,600,606.69
07/01/1910       $2,652,665,838.04
07/01/1909       $2,639,546,241.04
07/01/1908       $2,626,806,271.54
07/01/1907       $2,457,188,061.54
07/01/1906       $2,337,161,839.04
07/01/1905       $2,274,615,063.84
07/01/1904       $2,264,003,585.14
07/01/1903       $2,202,464,781.89
07/01/1902       $2,158,610,445.89
07/01/1901       $2,143,326,933.89
07/01/1900       $2,136,961,091.67
 

07/01/1899       $1,991,927,306.92
07/01/1898       $1,796,531,995.90
07/01/1897       $1,817,672,665.90
07/01/1896       $1,769,840,323.40
07/01/1895       $1,676,120,983.25
07/01/1894       $1,632,253,636.68
07/01/1893       $1,545,985,686.13
07/01/1892       $1,588,464,144.63
07/01/1891       $1,545,996,591.61
07/01/1890       $1,552,140,204.73
07/01/1889       $1,619,052,922.23
07/01/1888       $1,692,858,984.58
07/01/1887       $1,657,602,592.63
07/01/1886       $1,775,063,013.78
07/01/1885       $1,863,964,873.14
07/01/1884       $1,830,528,923.57
07/01/1883       $1,884,171,728.07
07/01/1882       $1,918,312,994.03
07/01/1881       $2,069,013,569.58
07/01/1880       $2,120,415,370.63
07/01/1879       $2,349,567,482.04
07/01/1878       $2,256,205,892.53
07/01/1877       $2,205,301,392.10
07/01/1876       $2,180,395,067.15
07/01/1875       $2,232,284,531.95
07/01/1874       $2,251,690,468.43
07/01/1873       $2,234,482,993.20
07/01/1872       $2,253,251,328.78
07/01/1871       $2,353,211,332.32
07/01/1870       $2,480,672,427.81
07/01/1869       $2,588,452,213.94
07/01/1868       $2,611,687,851.19
07/01/1867       $2,678,126,103.87
07/01/1866       $2,773,236,173.69
07/01/1865       $2,680,647,869.74
07/01/1864       $1,815,784,370.57
07/01/1863       $1,119,772,138.63
07/01/1862         $524,176,412.13
07/01/1861          $90,580,873.72
07/01/1860          $64,842,287.88
07/01/1859          $58,496,837.88
07/01/1858          $44,911,881.03
07/01/1857          $28,699,831.85
07/01/1856          $31,972,537.90
07/01/1855          $35,586,956.56
07/01/1854          $42,242,222.42
07/01/1853          $59,803,117.70
07/01/1852          $66,199,341.71
07/01/1851          $68,304,796.02
07/01/1850          $63,452,773.55
 

07/01/1849          $63,061,858.69
07/01/1848          $47,044,862.23
07/01/1847          $38,826,534.77
07/01/1846          $15,550,202.97
07/01/1845          $15,925,303.01
07/01/1844          $23,461,652.50
07/01/1843          $32,742,922.00
01/01/1843          $20,201,226.27
01/01/1842         $13,594,480.73
01/01/1841           $5,250,875.54
01/01/1840           $3,573,343.82
01/01/1839          $10,434,221.14
01/01/1838           $3,308,124.07
01/01/1837             $336,957.83
01/01/1836              $37,513.05
01/01/1835              $33,733.05
01/01/1834           $4,760,082.08
01/01/1833           $7,001,698.83
01/01/1832          $24,322,235.18
01/01/1831          $39,123,191.68
01/01/1830          $48,565,406.50
01/01/1829          $58,421,413.67
01/01/1828          $67,475,043.87
01/01/1827          $73,987,357.20
01/01/1826          $81,054,059.99
01/01/1825          $83,788,432.71
01/01/1824          $90,269,777.77
01/01/1823          $90,875,877.28
01/01/1822          $93,546,676.98
01/01/1821          $89,987,427.66
01/01/1820          $91,015,566.15
01/01/1819          $95,529,648.28
01/01/1818         $103,466,633.83
01/01/1817         $123,491,965.16
01/01/1816         $127,334,933.74
01/01/1815          $99,833,660.15
01/01/1814          $81,487,846.24
01/01/1813          $55,962,827.57
01/01/1812          $45,209,737.90
01/01/1811          $48,005,587.76
01/01/1810          $53,173,217.52
01/01/1809          $57,023,192.09
01/01/1808          $65,196,317.97
01/01/1807          $69,218,398.64
01/01/1806          $75,723,270.66
01/01/1805          $82,312,150.50
01/01/1804          $86,427,120.88
01/01/1803          $77,054,686.40
01/01/1802          $80,712,632.25
01/01/1801          $83,038,050.80
01/01/1800          $82,976,294.35
01/01/1799          $78,408,669.77
01/01/1798          $79,228,529.12
01/01/1797          $82,064,479.33
01/01/1796          $83,762,172.07
01/01/1795          $80,747,587.39
01/01/1794          $78,427,404.77
01/01/1793          $80,358,634.04
01/01/1792          $77,227,924.66
01/01/1791          $75,463,476.52

 * Rounded to Millions

SOURCE:  BUREAU OF THE PUBLIC DEBT

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HavenWorks.com/us/debt/#weblog US Debt News

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• US debt held by foreign countries.
• Largest US debt held by foreign countries as of July 2008:
• Japan US debt: $593.4 billion
• China US debt: $518.7 billion
• UK US debt: $290.8 billion
• "MAJOR FOREIGN HOLDERS OF TREASURY SECURITIES" via  http://www.ustreas.gov/tic/mfh.txt

MAJOR FOREIGN HOLDERS OF TREASURY SECURITIES                                                  (in billions of dollars)                                                HOLDINGS 1/ AT END OF PERIOD                          Jul     Jun     May     Apr     Mar     Feb     Jan     Dec     Nov     Oct     Sep     Aug     Jul Country               2008    2008    2008    2008    2008    2008    2008    2007    2007    2007    2007    2007    2007                      ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------ Japan                 593.4   583.8   578.7   592.2   600.7   586.6   586.9   581.2   590.9   601.7   591.9   595.8   620.6 China, Mainland       518.7   503.8   506.8   502.0   490.6   486.9   492.6   477.6   458.9   459.1   467.7   471.2   480.0 United Kingdom 2/     290.8   280.4   272.5   247.8   201.1   181.1   161.9   158.1   174.3   155.0   120.3    99.8    67.3 Oil Exporters 3/      173.9   170.4   164.3   153.9   150.8   146.1   140.9   137.9   138.7   141.6   137.1   134.7   134.7 Brazil                148.4   151.6   151.4   149.5   149.1   146.6   141.7   129.9   121.7   113.9   110.5   107.7   105.8 Carib Bnkng Ctrs 4/   133.5   122.4   104.7   115.4   107.1   103.0   108.1   116.4   107.4   105.6    99.1   103.8    70.7 Luxembourg             75.8    88.6    80.4    84.8    92.7    83.1    68.4    69.7    68.3    63.3    58.4    57.1    57.6 Russia                 74.1    65.3    63.7    60.2    42.4    38.4    35.2    32.7    33.5    33.6    31.8    31.9    35.9 Hong Kong              60.6    61.2    61.4    63.2    60.6    57.5    54.4    51.2    51.7    51.3    52.6    53.2    55.9 Switzerland            45.1    44.4    42.1    42.5    41.2    39.4    39.3    38.9    38.1    37.8    37.0    37.4    37.2 Taiwan                 42.3    40.9    40.1    42.6    41.2    38.8    38.9    38.2    37.1    40.7    39.9    39.5    44.6 Norway                 41.8    43.3    47.1    45.3    44.5    34.0    33.6    26.2    27.6    25.5    22.9     6.4      -- Germany                41.1    40.9    45.0    43.7    42.2    42.2    42.7    41.7    39.1    41.8    41.8    42.3    41.7 Mexico                 36.0    42.5    40.4    38.0    38.8    36.5    35.6    34.4    32.0    30.5    30.0    30.2    34.9 Korea                  35.3    36.5    38.5    40.5    40.7    41.4    42.1    39.2    37.8    37.0    39.4    42.6    44.4 Turkey                 32.4    30.3    28.9    31.1    28.7    28.5    28.2    25.6    25.6    28.1    28.3    29.2    28.5 Thailand               31.8    32.4    32.8    27.9    25.7    30.5    28.9    27.4    27.5    22.8    24.7    22.9    22.5 Singapore              31.4    30.4    30.6    33.5    33.3    33.5    38.6    39.8    40.2    38.8    36.6    37.8    36.3 Canada                 26.6    28.4    30.3    25.9    22.0    22.7    24.4    18.7    24.1    15.9    17.3    18.8    23.3 Netherlands            14.9    15.1    15.7    15.5    15.1    14.1    15.9    15.2    14.2    14.8    15.1    16.6    15.7 Poland                 13.9    13.3    12.4    12.5    11.6    10.2    10.3    12.9    11.1     9.8    10.6    10.5    11.1 Egypt                  13.4    12.3    12.8    12.7    12.7    12.0    11.6    10.4    10.6     9.9     9.9    10.1    10.2 Chile                  13.1    11.7    11.1    10.1     9.7     8.6     9.0     8.7     8.5     7.5     6.8     7.6     7.4 India                  13.0    11.7    10.3    10.5    11.8    14.4    14.6    14.9    14.8    14.9    10.8    12.1    14.1 Sweden                 12.4    12.4    13.2    13.1    13.2    13.6    13.4    13.7    14.1    14.5    14.8    15.7    15.5 Belgium                12.0    12.4    12.4    12.5    12.8    13.2    13.1    13.2    14.2    14.6    14.6    14.6    15.4 Ireland                11.2    14.2    15.8    18.5    17.8    15.6    15.6    18.7    17.5    17.0    16.3    16.8    15.6 All Other             139.5   145.8   147.7   148.6   155.4   155.6   157.8   160.6   157.7   152.1   149.4   151.1   154.3 Grand Total          2676.4  2646.5  2611.2  2594.1  2513.8  2434.1  2403.8  2353.2  2337.1  2299.2  2235.3  2217.5  2201.0 Of which:  For. Official       1767.6  1751.7  1743.9  1743.4  1706.6  1681.6  1688.0  1641.1  1619.1  1613.8  1607.7  1595.1  1621.0   Treasury Bills      232.5   226.7   220.0   215.7   201.3   204.3   207.1   196.3   185.3   180.4   178.3   180.0   176.2   T-Bonds & Notes    1535.1  1525.0  1523.9  1527.6  1505.3  1477.3  1480.9  1444.8  1433.8  1433.4  1429.4  1415.1  1444.7 Department of the Treasury/Federal Reserve Board September 16, 2008  1/  Estimated foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury marketable and non-marketable bills, bonds, and notes      reported under the Treasury International Capital (TIC) reporting system are based on annual      Surveys of Foreign Holdings of U.S. Securities and on monthly data.  2/  United Kingdom includes Channel Islands and Isle of Man.  3/  Oil exporters include Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,      Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria.  4/  Caribbean Banking Centers include Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Netherlands Antilles and Panama.      Beginning with new series for June 2006, also includes British Virgin Islands.

MAJOR FOREIGN HOLDERS OF TREASURY SECURITIES                                                  (in billions of dollars)                                                HOLDINGS 1/ AT END OF PERIOD                          Sep     Aug     Jul     Jun     May     Apr     Mar     Feb     Jan     Dec     Nov     Oct     Sep Country               2007    2007    2007    2007    2007    2007    2007    2007    2007    2006    2006    2006    2006                      ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------ Japan                 582.2   585.6   610.4   612.7   614.8   614.4   611.2   616.2   627.0   622.7   615.8   618.1   618.1 China, Mainland       396.7   400.2   409.0   406.3   408.6   415.3   421.1   417.1   402.1   398.0   394.1   392.2   389.7 United Kingdom 2/     266.4   244.0   210.6   193.2   170.6   136.5   148.9   122.7   105.1    93.7    76.1    61.7    61.6 Oil Exporters 3/      125.7   123.3   123.3   121.8   120.9   111.7   112.3   110.3   111.4   110.0   106.4   107.2   113.7 Brazil                109.4   106.7   104.7    93.7    81.6    79.7    69.7    60.7    53.7    52.1    51.0    46.4    44.9 Carib Bnkng Ctrs 4/    71.4    76.3    43.2    50.7    54.7    83.1    87.4    73.0    75.5    79.8    93.5    72.5    69.6 Luxembourg             61.0    63.9    64.3    62.7    62.3    61.9    61.9    59.9    59.5    60.1    60.5    59.5    58.7 Hong Kong              55.6    56.2    58.9    60.3    58.5    56.2    58.3    57.2    54.5    53.8    51.0    50.6    49.7 Taiwan                 52.6    52.2    57.3    57.3    57.2    59.1    58.0    57.3    59.1    59.3    59.4    60.8    61.3 Korea                  45.7    48.9    50.7    50.0    52.1    54.1    57.9    56.9    62.3    66.7    64.5    65.7    65.7 Germany                44.1    44.6    44.0    48.2    51.4    49.7    47.5    47.8    49.8    45.9    45.5    46.1    46.3 Singapore              33.7    34.9    33.4    33.1    34.4    32.2    28.8    31.3    29.9    31.3    30.9    31.1    34.0 Mexico                 32.7    32.9    37.6    36.6    35.5    35.5    35.3    35.0    36.6    34.9    38.6    40.5    40.4 Switzerland            30.8    31.3    31.1    32.1    31.8    32.2    32.8    32.7    33.7    34.3    35.6    36.9    37.0 Turkey                 26.6    27.6    26.9    27.1    27.0    26.2    27.6    25.4    25.0    23.0    23.4    22.3    23.6 Canada                 23.1    24.9    29.2    30.5    33.6    29.8    31.5    30.1    28.3    26.9    27.2    28.9    28.8 Thailand               21.8    20.1    19.7    17.8    18.7    16.8    17.8    16.8    16.6    16.9    16.1    15.7    15.9 Netherlands            19.7    21.2    20.3    21.2    19.9    21.3    21.4    21.5    20.1    20.7    20.5    20.0    18.1 Sweden                 15.6    16.5    16.3    15.9    15.7    15.1    15.2    15.2    14.3    12.3    11.9    12.0    12.9 France                 13.3    16.8    21.3    20.9    20.9    19.8    20.8    23.1    27.9    26.4    30.4    26.7    17.6 Poland                 13.2    13.0    13.7    12.9    11.8    12.2    12.2    12.7   12.5    13.9    13.9    14.1    12.8 Russia                 13.0    13.1    17.1    14.7    11.8     7.7     7.4     8.1     8.5     7.0     7.0     7.5     6.4 Italy                  12.9    12.7    13.4    13.4    13.3    13.2    13.9    13.4    13.5    13.2    16.0    13.8    13.6 Ireland                12.5    12.9    11.7    11.9    12.0     8.5    11.7    12.5    12.2    11.5    14.8    15.7    14.6 Belgium                11.3    11.3    12.1    11.9    12.1    12.9    12.3    13.0    12.3    13.6    13.0    13.3    13.8 Israel                 10.9    11.6    11.3    12.4    13.8    13.8    14.1    13.4    12.5    12.3    11.7    11.3     9.2 All Other             144.9   128.4   121.3   134.0   151.7   159.4   169.4   171.9   168.3   174.5   175.8   163.8   147.3 Grand Total          2247.0  2231.0  2212.7  2203.5  2196.7  2178.5  2206.5  2155.0  2132.4  2114.8  2104.6  2054.4  2025.3 Of which:  For. Official       1440.4  1427.6  1453.4  1445.1  1450.4  1460.4  1468.0  1453.5  1450.9  1451.2  1452.9  1443.6  1426.0   Treasury Bills      178.1   179.8   176.0   160.7   172.5   178.0   194.9   181.8   181.4   176.8   186.2   178.5   179.4   T-Bonds & Notes    1262.4  1247.7  1277.4  1284.3  1277.9  1282.5  1273.1  1271.7  1269.5  1274.4  1266.7  1265.1  1246.6 Department of the Treasury/Federal Reserve Board November 16, 2007  1/  Estimated foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury marketable and non-marketable bills, bonds, and notes      reported under the Treasury International Capital (TIC) reporting system are based on annual      Surveys of Foreign Holdings of U.S. Securities and on monthly data.  2/  United Kingdom includes Channel Islands and Isle of Man.  3/  Oil exporters include Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,      Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria.  4/  Caribbean Banking Centers include Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Netherlands Antilles and Panama.      Beginning with new series for June 2006, also includes British Virgin Islands.

 
US DEBT HISTORICAL DATA BACK TO JUNE 2006:

MAJOR FOREIGN HOLDERS OF TREASURY SECURITIES                                                  (in billions of dollars)                                                HOLDINGS 1/ AT END OF PERIOD                          Jun     May     Apr     Mar     Feb     Jan     Dec     Nov     Oct     Sep     Aug     Jul     Jun Country               2007    2007    2007    2007    2007    2007    2006    2006    2006    2006    2006    2006    2006                      ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------ Japan                 612.3   615.2   614.8   611.6   616.5   627.4   622.9   615.9   618.1   618.1   623.5   614.9   614.7 China, Mainland       405.1   407.4   414.0   419.8   415.9   400.9   396.9   393.8   392.2  389.7   386.5   378.2   372.3 United Kingdom 2/     190.1   167.6   134.5   147.0   122.0   103.3    92.6    76.1    61.6    61.6    54.6    44.3    55.5 Oil Exporters 3/      122.3   121.3   112.2   112.7   110.8   111.8   110.2   106.4   107.2   113.7   116.6   112.4   110.8 Brazil                 93.6    81.6    79.7    69.7    60.7    53.7    52.1    51.0    46.4    44.9    43.1    31.7    33.3 Luxembourg             62.5    62.1    61.8    61.8    59.8    59.4    60.0    60.5    59.5    58.7    58.4    59.4    58.8 Hong Kong              60.5    58.7    56.4    58.5    57.4    54.7    54.0    51.1    50.6    49.7    50.7    48.9    48.8 Taiwan                 57.5    57.4    59.3    58.2    57.6    59.4    59.4    59.5    60.8    61.3    61.9    63.0    63.4 Korea                  50.0    52.1    54.1    57.9    56.9    62.3    66.7    64.5    65.7    65.7    63.4    65.1    65.6 Carib Bnkng Ctrs 4/    49.1    48.0    76.5    80.9    66.1    68.3    72.3    87.2    72.7    69.5    79.6    85.8    73.6 Germany                48.3    51.4    49.7    47.6    47.8    49.7    46.0    45.6    46.1    46.3    44.7    43.2    41.8 Mexico                 36.6    35.5    35.5    35.3    35.0    36.6    34.9    38.6    40.5    40.4    40.3    46.2    46.2 Singapore              33.0    34.4    32.1    28.8    31.2    29.9    31.3    30.9    31.1    34.0    34.7    35.0    35.2 Switzerland            32.2    31.9    32.3    32.9    32.7    33.8    34.3    35.6    36.9    37.0    38.1    38.2    37.8 Canada                 29.3    33.0    29.3    31.1    29.8    28.1    26.9    27.2    28.9    28.8    28.3    21.6    21.5 Turkey                 27.1    27.0    26.2    27.6    25.4    25.0    23.0    23.4    22.3    23.6    24.0    22.5    19.8 Netherlands            21.5    20.2    21.6    21.7    21.8    20.4    20.7    20.5    20.0    18.1    16.7    18.3    19.3 France                 20.7    20.7    19.6    20.6    22.9    27.8    26.4    30.4    26.7    17.6    23.6    22.3    25.9 Thailand               17.8    18.7    16.8    17.8    16.8    16.6    16.9    16.1    15.7    15.9    16.1    15.4    15.5 Sweden                 15.6    15.4    14.8    14.9    14.9    14.0    12.0    11.9    12.0    12.9    13.5    13.5    13.3 Russia                 14.7    11.8     7.7     7.4     8.1     8.5     7.0     7.0     7.5     6.4     6.6     5.7     4.4 Italy                  13.5    13.4    13.3    13.9    13.4    13.6    13.2    16.0    13.8    13.6    14.2    14.0    14.5 Poland                 12.9    11.8    12.2    12.2    12.7    12.5    13.9    13.9    14.1    12.8    13.4    12.5    11.1 India                  12.8    15.3    20.0    20.1    19.5    15.8    14.6    13.9    12.0    11.2    13.5    14.0    13.1 Israel                 12.4    13.8    13.8    14.1    13.4    12.5    12.3    11.7    11.3     9.2     6.2     6.5     7.5 Ireland                12.1    12.1     8.6    11.9    12.7    12.4    11.6    14.8    15.7    14.6    15.1    13.6    13.8 Malaysia               11.9    10.9    10.4     9.6     9.9     9.8     9.2     9.2     9.9     9.9    10.0    10.3    10.3 Belgium                11.3    11.5    12.3    11.7    12.3    12.1    13.6    13.0    13.3    13.8    14.5    15.1    13.7 All Other             131.9   122.2   125.6   136.4   139.3   139.4   148.0   151.9   141.9   126.2   126.1   121.1   116.0 Grand Total          2218.7  2182.4  2165.4  2193.6  2143.2  2119.3  2103.0  2097.5  2054.7  2025.2  2037.8  1992.8  1977.7 Of which:  For. Official       1468.5  1447.8  1457.8  1465.4  1450.9  1448.3  1449.0  1452.3  1443.6  1426.0  1429.0  1408.5  1397.7   Treasury Bills      160.7   172.5   178.0   194.9   181.8   181.4   176.8   186.2   178.5   179.4   190.0   186.0   184.8   T-Bonds & Notes    1307.8  1275.3  1279.9  1270.5  1269.1  1267.0  1272.2  1266.1  1265.1  1246.6  1239.0  1222.5  1212.8 Department of the Treasury/Federal Reserve Board August 15, 2007  1/  Estimated foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury marketable and non-marketable bills, bonds, and notes      reported under the Treasury International Capital (TIC) reporting system are based on annual      Surveys of Foreign Holdings of U.S. Securities and on monthly data.  2/  United Kingdom includes Channel Islands and Isle of Man.  3/  Oil exporters include Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,      Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria.  4/  Caribbean Banking Centers include Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Netherlands Antilles and Panama.      Beginning with new series for June 2006, also includes British Virgin Islands.

• US debt FAQ Document via: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/resources/faq/faq_publicdebt.htm
• Frequently Asked Questions about the Public Debt

General Information

Where is the money spent that is borrowed from the public and who decides where it goes?

The Bureau of Public Debt is responsible for accounting for and reporting the debt in accordance with statutory direction. The Bureau does not have any public policy decision-making authority. Visit the Financial Management Service web site for more information. Information about the "Budget of the United States" is available at the Government Printing Office web site.

What is the difference between the debt and the deficit?

The deficit is the fiscal year difference between what the United States Government (Government) takes in from taxes and other revenues, called receipts, and the amount of money the Government spends, called outlays. The items included in the deficit are considered either on-budget or off-budget.

You can think of the total debt as accumulated deficits plus accumulated off-budget surpluses. The on-budget deficits require the U.S. Treasury to borrow money to raise cash needed to keep the Government operating. We borrow the money by selling securities like Treasury bills, notes, bonds and savings bonds to the public.

The Treasury securities issued to the public and to the Government Trust Funds (Intragovernmental Holdings) then become part of the total debt. For information about the deficit, visit the Financial Management Service web site to view the Monthly Treasury Statement of Receipts and Outlays of the United States Government (MTS).

What's the difference between the Public Debt Outstanding and the Public Debt Subject to Limit?

The Public Debt Outstanding represents the face amount or principal amount of marketable and non-marketable securities currently outstanding. The Public Debt Subject to Limit is the maximum amount of money the Government is allowed to borrow without receiving additional authority from Congress. Furthermore, the Public Debt Subject to Limit is the Public Debt Outstanding adjusted for Unamortized Discount on Treasury Bills and Zero Coupon Treasury Bonds, Miscellaneous debt (very old debt), Debt held by the Federal Financing Bank and Guaranteed Debt.

Why does the debt only change once a day? Why doesn't Treasury keep a rolling tab?

Our current accounting system produces the Public Debt Outstanding amount each morning around 11:30 A.M. ET. Our system relies on reporting entities (for example, Federal Reserve Banks) to report a variety of Treasury security information at the end of the day. On the following business day, our accounting system processes this information and generates the Public Debt Outstanding for the previous day. Although we continually look for methods to improve our process, daily accounting is still the most effective, efficient, and accurate way to account for the debt.

Makeup of the Debt

Is there a report that lists the type of Treasury Securities that are issued to finance the debt, related maturity dates, and "Amount Outstanding?"

The Monthly Statement of the Public Debt (MSPD) is available online in summary and full versions, and lists the types of Treasury Securities issued to finance the Debt, the related maturity dates, and the "Amount Outstanding".

Ownership of the Debt

Who owns the debt?

The Treasury Bulletin, available online from the Financial Management Service categorizes ownership of U.S. Government securities by types of investors.

What is the Debt Held by the Public?

The Debt Held by the Public is all federal debt held by individuals, corporations, state or local governments, foreign governments, and other entities outside the United States Government less Federal Financing Bank securities. Types of securities held by the public include, but are not limited to, Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds, TIPS, United States Savings Bonds, and State and Local Government Series securities.

What are Intragovernmental Holdings?

Intragovernmental Holdings are Government Account Series securities held by Government trust funds, revolving funds, and special funds; and Federal Financing Bank securities. A small amount of marketable securities are held by government accounts.

What is the Federal Financing Bank [FFB: http://www.ustreas.gov/ffb/]?

Obligations are issued to the public by the Federal Financing Bank (FFB) to finance its operations. Obligations are limited to $15 billion unless otherwise authorized by the Appropriations Acts. The FFB was established "to consolidate and reduce the government's cost of financing a variety of federal agencies and other borrowers whose obligations are guaranteed by the federal government." (The First Boston Corporation, The Pink Book: Handbook of U.S. Government & Federal Agency Securities, 34th ed., Probus, Chicago, 1990 pp. 87-88.)

Financing the Debt

Why does the debt sometimes decrease?

The Public Debt Outstanding decreases when there are more redemptions of Treasury securities than there are issues.

How do you make a contribution to reduce the debt?

Make your check payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt, and in the memo section, notate that it is a Gift to reduce the Debt Held by the Public. Mail your check to:

Attn Dept G
Bureau Of the Public Debt
P. O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188

•  "Debating the Deficit." from NOW with Bill Moyers. - http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/deficit.html
20040924
• "The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that debt will climb by $2.3 trillion over the next 10 years, and that making all Mr. Bush's tax cuts permanent would cost an additional $1.9 trillion by the end of 2014. In April, the CBO raised its estimate of the 2004 budget deficit to 477 billion dollars, up from 307 billion dollars a year ago. THE WASHINGTON POST reported on April 13, 2004, using the federal government's own figures, that the federal government now pays five times as much in interest on the deficit as it spends on the environment and natural resources. The numbers are so high that traditional fiscal conservatives are battling with others in their party about the President's 2005 spending plans. Pete Peterson the author of RUNNING ON EMPTY: HOW THE DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN PARTIES ARE BANKRUPTING OUR FUTURE AND WHAT AMERICANS CAN DO ABOUT IT talks with David Brancaccioi on September 24, 2004."

 
• "Historical Budget Deficits and Surpluses"

1970: Deficit in millions of Dollars:                  -2,842
1975: Deficit in millions of Dollars:                 -53,242
1980: Deficit in millions of Dollars:                 -73,830
1985: Deficit in millions of Dollars:               -212,308
1990: Deficit in millions of Dollars:                -221,195
1995: Deficit in millions of Dollars:               -163,972
2000: Surplus in millions of Dollars:                 236,445
2003: Deficit in millions of Dollars:                -375,000
2004 (projected): Deficit in millions of Dollars:    -477,000
 
•  http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/deficitdebate.html
•  http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/taxcutdebate.html

•  "United States public debt." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt

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US DEBT News
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