One of the most pressing issues for all Americans has been the increasing national debt and budget shortfall. The lack of agreement on how to handle the shortfall has continued to be a significant debate in Congress. While all believe that something needs to be done to reduce the budget, neither political party can come up with a plan agreeable by all.
As politicians continue to discuss ways to handle the national debt, the annual US budget shortfall continues to be quite large. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the US budget deficit will hit $1.3 trillion this year. Along with the projections, the CBO also provided an analysis which found that the budget gap would decrease dramatically if the current administration allows the Bush administration tax cuts to expire.
By cutting back on the tax breaks available for American tax payers, particularly the wealthiest 1% of tax payers, the government could see a dramatic increase in revenue. The increase in revenue could cut up to $3.3 trillion off of the total expected debt over the next decade. In fact, some economists are projecting that the total budget shortfall could be as less than $1 billion if the appropriate tax breaks are taken away.
In order for the budget shortfall to truly go away, the overall economy will need some drastic improvement. The 9% unemployment rate is affecting the shortfall a number of different ways as having less people in the workforce means that the government will receive less income tax revenue, and the government will need to spend money on unemployment benefits. Economists presently expect the unemployment rate to fall to about 8.5% by the end of 2012. At the same time, they expect that GDP will grow by about 2.5% each year for the next two calendar years.
If you are interested in joining our mailing list, please submit your email below. 
