2010 IOUSA Movie Questions

2010 IOUSA Movie Questions and Answers

1. Budget deficit: What was the U.S. budget deficit in 2008? What about 2009? How much of an increase was there between the 2 years?
2. 2008 = $459 billion
3. 2009 = $1.4 trillion
4. Increase = $1 trillion

1. How much will this borrowing for 2009 cost every American?
2. 2009 = $4,500
3. 2015 = $154,000

1. National debt (amount we owe as a nation): What was the U.S. national debt in September, 2008? What was the national debt in March 2010? What is it today?
2. 2008 = $9.6 trillion
3. 2010 = $12.6 trillion
4. 2015 = $18 trillion

1. How much will this borrowing cost every American?
2. 2010 = $41,000
3. 2015 = $56,000

1. How much is the “unfunded promises and liabilities” U.S. national debt projected to be? How much will these promises cost every man, woman and child in the U.S.?
2. Projected = $93 trillion
3. Cost for every man, woman and child = $796,500

1. How much of the government debt is owned by the public?
2. 2015 = $18trillion

1. A. What is the estimated Gross National Product (GDP) for 2010? What is the 2010 percentage of all public debt to GDP?
2. 2010 = $14.6 trillion; 2015 = $17 trillion
3. 2010 = 61%; 2015 = 104.3%

GDP = The total market value of all final goods and services produced in a country in a given year, equal to the total consumer investment and government spending, plus the value of exports minus the value of imports.

• Goods – items made for the purpose of selling to consumers (people who buy goods)
• Services – acts that are paid for by consumers (car mechanic, teacher)
• Export – items moved out of the country for trading purposes
• Imports – items brought into the country for trading purposes

1. B. What is the difference between discretionary spending and mandatory spending? How much is each as a percentage of our federal budget?

Mandatory – required by law/can’t cut these programs without passing a law to change the program: 62% (2010)

Discretionary – what is deemed necessary by Congress/easier to change spending laws for discretionary spending: 38% (2010)

1. What are the top 3 single expenditures (service costs) for the United States government for the 2010 budget?

a)Medicare/Medicaid (Medicare = free healthcare for seniors 65+; Medicaid = free healthcare for poor) = $920 billion

b)Social Security (government support for retirement) = $858 billion

c)Defense/Military spending = $595 billion

1. How much is the interest(amount charged for borrowed money) on the national debt for 2010?
2. 2010 = $207 billion2015 = $237 billion

1. What is the total spending for the federal government for 2010?
2. 2015 = $3.5 trillion

1. What are the top 3 sources of revenue (money from taxes) for the federal government? (where does the money come from?)

a)Personal income tax –1.4 trillion (taxes on citizens’ wages)

b)Payroll income tax – 1 trillion (social security taxes)

c)Corporate taxes – 342 billion (taxes on businesses)

1. What are the differences between revenue (money from taxes) and expenditures (money spent) for 2010?

• $1.4 trillion

1. Why does Congress like to “spend money”?

• To get votes for re-election

1. In order to reform the budget there are two recommended programs? Explain how each of the two listed below can help alleviate the budget crisis.
2. Pay-go: (pay as you go) find a way to pay for each tax cut proposal and/or find a way to pay for each increase in mandatory spending.
3. Spending caps: reduce the amount of money to be used for discretionary spending.

1. What are some long term impacts if current mandatory programs (such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Interest on the Debt) are left as is?
2. No money left for discretionary spending
3. Bankruptcy (can no longer pay for programs)
4. Keep spending and raising the debt
5. What debt to GDP ratio is needed to get into the European Union? Does the United States meet this? What is the projected debt to GDP ratio for 2040?

• Needed = 60%
• 2015 = 104% (we could not get into the European Union right now – over the 60%)
• Projected 2040 - 303%

1. Since 2001 how much money has been appropriated to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?
2. $1.5 Trillion

1. Explain 2 ways to reduce military spending. (don’t write about this – defense has already been cut)
2. Reduce military spending to pre-war spending
3. Defense Department reforms (review weapon systems, make procurement programs more efficient and make military compensation and benefits more affordable).

1. What are four of the nation’s fastest growing and largest“mandatory spending policies”?
2. Social Security
3. Medicaid
4. Medicare
5. paying interest on the debt

1. When Social Security was implemented in 1935 what was the average age of life expectancy in the United States?
2. 1935 life expectancy = 62 (retirement age was 65)
3. 2015 life expectancy = 78 (retirement age is still 65 – can begin collecting at 62, but with significantly less benefits)
4. How does this affect the program? = bankrupts it; promises more than it can afford to pay out

1. Describe at least two solutions to fix social security.
2. graduallyincrease the retirement age over the next 10-15 years (make people work longer)
3. increase payroll taxes (taxes on wages, the amount of money people make)
4. Those who make more could pay more into social security
5. reduce growth in benefits for those who make more money
6. reduce COLA (Cost of LivingAllowancefor wages and benefits)

1. What are the biggest problems with health care today?
2. It is expensive
3. Costs continue to rise
4. Most expensive in the world (US spends more per person on healthcare than any other country)
5. Describe at least two solutions to fixing health care costs?
6. Reduce the rate of growth in health care
7. Examples
8. Stop using fee for service (doctors getting paid for performing a specific service; perhaps some services are not essential)
9. Improve information systems
10. Increase physician and hospital accountability
11. Malpractice reform
12. Limit amounts that can be received
13. Consider better end-of-life care
14. Promote prevention and wellness
15. Implement Medicare reform
16. Establish a federal budget for healthcare
17. Raise premiums (copays) for Medicare Parts B and D
18. Gradually raise eligibility age

1. What is the “greatest fiscal problem” facing our Nation?
2. Unfunded Medicare costs (healthcare for seniors)

1. Name 3 ways to reform our federal tax system.

• Reconsider or cancel Bush tax cuts
• Create a consumption tax (pay tax on items (goods) we use or consume – gas, oil, food, clothing, etc.)
• Modernize tax system
• Currently made up of 10,000 different sections

1. Why is the job to get our nations finances fixed so tough to do from a political perspective?
2. Politicians don’t want to address the problem for fear of not being re-elected. They will have to make difficult choices that the citizens may not like, such as raise taxes or cut services.

1. Why do you think the producers of the video depict Alexander Hamilton’s picture in the background so often?
2. He was a genius who fixed the first budget crisis, and he made the difficult choices needed to benefit our country.

2010 IOUSA Movie Questions