What is the current U.S. federal government deficit?
Current Events Friday
Data Scavenger Hunt
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above:
A deficit occurs when an entity spending exceeds its revenues. What is the current deficit for the U.S. federal government?
What was the U.S. federal government deficit in 2022?
How much bigger is the 2023 U.S. federal government deficit than the 2022 federal deficit?
How many $1.7 billion would you need to have to equal $1.7 trillion?
The U.S. federal government deficit is $1,695,148,300,531. The U.S. federal government has collected $4,439,283,739,921 in fiscal year 2023. So how much has the federal government spent in 2023?
Big Brain Questions
Answer these questions by yourself using your brain and the links below:
When you add up all the U.S. federal government deficits and subtract the total number of surpluses (when we spend less than we bring in - which almost never happens) then you have the federal debt (see visual explainer below*). The national debt ($33.68 T) is the total amount of outstanding borrowing by the U.S. Federal Government accumulated over the nation’s history. The current U.S. debt is $33,684,219,111,864 which is updated daily from the Debt to the Penny dataset. Why is the debt so high?
American personal debt is also astronomical. In Federalist No. 51, James “Mad Daddy” Madison writes, “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?” Explain the connection between the voters, their personal deficits, and the U.S. federal government deficit.
Explain whether you believe the federal debt will go down or up.
What is the worst thing about having a huge federal deficit?
The U.S. federal debt is now equal to over $100,000 per citizen. How do you think the U.S. debt will impact your future?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
Contact the White House and let President Joe Biden know what you think he should do about the American deficit.
Or call the White House and tell the President I said hi at phone number:
1-202-456-1414 (Switchboard)
1-202-456-1111 (Comments)
Get Creative
Interview five to ten people (audio, written, or video interviews are all fine) and ask them what they think the debt is. Reveal the actual number and record their reaction. Share a montage of these reactions with your classmates.
