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How Big is the U.S. Debt?
Overview
Debt. Many people have debt. So does the U.S. government. But people in debt frequently worry about paying it off and hope to live debt-free. U.S. government debt more than doubled between 2008 and 2018, from $10 trillion to $21 trillion, yet our elected representatives don’t seem to care and vote to spend more money every year.
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Grade level and subjects
• Recommended for grades 6-12
• Subjects: Government and Economics
• Works in Classroom, Hybrid, and Homeschool settings
Sample discussion questions
• If your parents kept spending money on you to keep you happy, without regard to their income, what would eventually happen to them?
• Are there any limits to how much the government can borrow? Are there any limits to how much people will loan the government? And what happens if they do stop loaning the U.S. government money?
• Why did Professor Davies use so many visuals to explain how much debt the United States has? 2 Post-Viewing Activities:
• Ask students to write one or both of these quotes in their notebooks and ask them to relate the quote(s) to the video they saw in class. a. Nothing is easier than spending the public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody. – Calvin Coolidge b. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. – P.J. O'Rourke
• Use the website https://treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/current to see how much debt the U.S. government was in on the day you were born and how much it was on your last birthday. How much has it gone up while you have been alive?
What’s in the free teacher’s guide
This printable 2-page Teacher's Guide includes a lesson description and discussion and analysis questions.
Standards alignment
Aligned to state standards — use the SITC Standards Tool to match this video to the standards in your state.