Marginal URLs:
- p. 344: Go to http://www.cbo.gov/ to learn more about the activities of the Congressional Budget Office, which reports to the legislative branch of the U.S. government about the current state of the federal government's spending and receipts.
- p. 353: For more information about the role of the Office of Management and Budget in the government's budgeting process, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/.
Issues and Applications—Web Resources:
Economics on the Net:
The Public Debt
By examining the federal government's budget data, its current estimates of the public debt can be determined.
Title: Historical Tables: Budget of the United States Government
Navigation: Use http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/ to visit the Office of Management and Budget. If necessary, select the most recent budget. Then click on Historical Tables.
Application: After the document downloads, perform the indicated operations and answer the questions.
- In the Table of Contents in the left-hand margin of the Historical Tables, click on Table 7.1, "Federal Debt at the End of the Year, 1940-2011." In light of the discussion in this chapter, which column shows the net public debt? What is the conceptual difference between the gross public debt and the net public debt? Last year, what was the dollar difference between these two amounts?
- Table 7.1 includes estimates of the gross and net public debt over the next several years. Suppose that these estimates turn out to be accurate. Calculate how much the net public debt would increase on average each year. What are possible ways that the government could prevent these predicted increases from occurring?
