It's Boring Until It's Us by Rebecca

It's Boring Until It's Us by Rebecca - March 2017 Scholarship Essay

Key to being a good citizen in a democratic society is being educated about a variety of issues, many of which are interrelated in complex ways. There is one aspect that affects all issues: economic policy. Understanding the costs and benefits of a variety of types of policies, such as client, interest group, majoritarian and entrepreneurial, as well as the difference between mandatory and discretionary spending can help voters understand what their votes and decisions really mean. Elections have consequences, and an uninformed electorate results in more government programs than Americans want to pay for.

The first part of understanding how economic policy impacts us is the basic vocabulary and current situation of the issues. Understanding the difference between the national debt and deficit, fiscal policy versus monetary policy, the various economic philosophies that parties tend to adopt like monetarism, supply side economics, and Keynesianism. Understanding the amount of money that is currently allocated to each government program, and where the money is borrowed from to cover the gap between the revenue from taxes and the costs of all the programs.

The three largest portions of the US budget in any given year are social security, healthcare and defense. Of these, only defense is not mandatory; every year Congress votes to spend roughly $596 billion on the military, a cost that is larger than the military budgets of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, the United Kingdom, India and Germany combined. As the administration continually calls for increases in the military budget, programs that support millions of citizens are underfunded and running out. It is estimated that by 2034 the social security trust fund will run out, but these payments will continue because elderly people depend on them for their day to day lives, and thus further increasing the amount of money the US borrows, increasing the national debt drastically. Meanwhile, the same office estimates that social security could be paid for and covered for the next 75 years by increasing the FICA tax by just 1.4%, but many Americans are resolutely against raising taxes and Congress will not risk reelection by doing what needs to be done.

These are the types of issues that I would like to give a speech to a school-wide audience about, because even if it bores half of the students to death there will be many who are intrigued by the issue and want to learn more, and that is what is necessary if the next generation of congresspeople and voters are to be informed and literate in the issues that impact all of us at this critical time.

Sources:

Caplinger, Dan. "Will Social Security Really Run Out of Money?" The Motley Fool. The Motley Fool, 21 Mar. 2016. Web. 14 Mar. 2017. .

Carroll, Lauren. "Obama: US spends more on military than next 8 nations combined." Politifact. Tampa Bay Times, 13 Jan. 2016. Web. 14 Mar. 2017. .

Goss, Stephen C. "The Future Financial Status of the Social Security Program." Office of Retirement and Disability Policy. The United States Social Security Administration, 01 Aug. 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2017. .