Federal Revenues, Spending and Debt - Charts

Uwe Reinhardt has a post in the New York Times Economix blog about the Federal ratings downgrade that has some good charts on the comparisons of Federal revenue to deficits and about the size of the debt. Here they are:

Deficit Debate - Krugman vs. Holtz-Eakin

The PBS News Hour has a good debate about the deficit and debt debate between Paul Krugman and Douglas Holtz-Eakin.

Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.

Why Can't Economists Agree on Deficit?

Mark Thoma has a good article in Fiscal Times about the reasons why economist disagree over the Federal deficit. As Thoma points out, and explains, the divide between economists is based on the classical-Keynes split.

Ryan and Obama Plans Side by Side

The New York Times has a good chart that lays out the differences between the Ryan and the Obama deficit reduction plans. Let the debate begin.

Debt Ceiling Video

Paul Solomon on the PBS News Hour has a good video about the issues involves in the debt ceiling debate, its effect on the economy and how it is viewed on Wall Street. It is very informative and good for teaching the concept.

Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.

Debate over the Debt Ceiling

Now that the current budget debate is over, the next debate will be over raising the debt ceiling. This debate will be coming to its :do or die" time over the next five weeks. This debate is more important. The temporary shutdown of the Federal government would have been not good, but the failure to raise the debt will be a big bad that could have wide ranging consequences for the U.S. and world economies. So, as this debate gets going, it is time to look at the current composition of the debt. The New York Times published this graphic showing the history of rising the debt ceiling and the composition of the current debt. Three points to look at on this. First, look at the amount owed to Social Security. Second, the amount added to the debt by the Obama stimulus plan. Third, the amount added by the various programs of George W. Bush. Interesting that only now the Republicans are worried about the debt - so much so that they will threaten the creditability of the U.S. on world financial markets.

The New Age of Austerity

The New Age of Austerity is the phrase in today's article in The New York Times, by David Leonhardt, on the difficulty the United States will have in reducing the long-term debt problems it is facing. The root question is how much of tax increases and spending cuts can be done while keeping the economy growing and not having an adverse decline in government services. Basically, there are no painless choices, but there are less painful choices. And while everyone has to feel some of the pain, who should feel more and who should feel less is a hard political choice.

The times also has a great interactive budget puzzle, where the reader gets a change to put their own budget priorities to the test. Good luck.