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Ian Davis Malcolm Campbell English 1102 January 21, 2014 Topic Proposal: The Nations Debt and How We Can Fix It Introduction/Overview I will be examining the USs debt along with other countrys debt or capital and comparing them to find why the US debt keeps rising. I will take fairly wealthy countries, study their system along with their government and explain how the US could use or adapt policies and techniques used by other nations. According to the article History of the United States public debt, debt as a percentage of GDP has constantly increased since 1973, except during the presidencies of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Currently, one of the biggest controversies going on is the debt ceiling increase under the Obama administration. According to zFacts.com and their article National Dept Graph by President Obamas debt is a continuation of the trend and that neither Bush nor Obama are directly responsible for that acceleration. It happened because of the recession. This topic is one of the most controversial topics in the country. There are so many different standpoints and opinions on the nations debt. Everyone knows of the two main party opinions from the Republicans and Democrats. However many people now believe that a socialism wave is swooping the nation. Although this is just a speculation, it provides proof of an opinion of the people in the country. Another opinion put down in the Washington Post was expressed by Larry Summers (Democrat) was that the debt ceiling should be abolished. In other

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countries where there is no debt ceiling, the treasury has the authority to carry out any legislation passed that deals with money (Cha, Ariana Eunjung).

Initial Inquiry Question(s) Why does the national debt of the United States still increase in spite of all efforts given by all political parties? What other policies from other countries could we as a country possibly adapt to correct our spending deficit?

My Interest in this Topic My initial questions beg the answer why do I want to know these things? I am very interested in the nations economy as a whole and the spending the country does directly effects the market place. I am directly my path of life into the field of a car engineer and need to have some understanding of all the aspects of the market. I thought that if I begin my understanding with the nation and how it can affect the market in which I will be working in, I could better myself now and in the long run. I also find this topic interesting because there are so many complex parts that form the system. I also hope to learn about other countries markets and how they function. This will also help me if I were to seek out an engineering job overseas, because I would have a basic knowledge of how that countrys economy and spending work.

Next Steps My next steps in finding research are to find more highly appraised websites or databases to find more information on the United States national debt and then use those places to also

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examine other countries debts and how they run their system. I will also keep up to date on current events pertaining to the debt to further my understanding of how the system functions.

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Works Cited Cha, Ariana Eunjung. "Whats the Debt Ceiling, and Why Is Everyone in Washington Talking about It?" Washington Post. The Washington Post, 28 July 2011. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. "National Debt Graph by President." National Debt Graph by President. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. "History of the United States Public Debt." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 Jan. 2014.