A Nation in the Red: The Government Debt Crisis and What We Can Do About It

A Nation in the Red: The Government Debt Crisis and What We Can Do About It

by Murray Holland
Released November 2013
Publisher(s): McGraw-Hill
ISBN: 9780071829809

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Book description

Our government debt is rising every day. Our population is shifting as more people retire and fewer are able to find work. Our social programs, including the Affordable Care Act, are only adding to our financial burden, and rising taxes are hindering economic growth. We are a nation in the red.

A powerful wake-up call to leaders, investors, and citizens, this brilliantly researched book reveals the surprising truth about our national debt--and what we can do about it.

You'll learn:

  • How reckless spending by Congress has created a debt trap
  • How Obamacare will negatively affect health care costs and our economy
  • How Social Security really works--and why it's unsustainable in its current form
  • How changing interest rates could spell disaster for the United States
  • What America can learn from Europe's economic woes
  • What could happen if the United States defaults on its loans
  • What our government needs to do now to save us from collapse
  • What you can do to protect yourself and your family

Written in clear, concise language and backed with ample data and sometimes shocking facts, A Nation in the Red presents a reasoned, straightforward approach to one of the most controversial issues of our time. You'll discover the fascinating psychological reasons that have helped create our debt trap, the staggering price of FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society, and the real cost of entitlement programs like Medicare, Social Security, and welfare. You'll learn about the 2,200 federal programs that we’re all paying for--and the truth about Bush-era tax cuts versus Obama's tax hikes. You'll also discover how the five most obvious ways to reduce debt may--or may not--be the solution to our country's problems.

And most importantly, you'll learn how to protect your own wealth from the next financial crisis.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR A NATION IN THE RED

"A Nation in the Red is the best-researched and most understandable explanation of how the United States put itself in the untenable debt position it is in today. Murray Holland has an extraordinary comprehension of the economic, currency, legal, and business problems facing this country. He has the knowledge to understand the extent of our problems and the wisdom to advise how to get out of the government debt trap." -- Christopher Mahoney, retired Vice Chairman, Moody's Investors Service

"A Nation in the Red is a must read to get a vivid picture of where our country is on the slippery slope to financial disaster and what must be done to reverse this fatal direction, creating a path to recovery and a promising future." -- Jeff Heller, retired President and Chief Operating Officer, Electronic Data Systems Corporation

"Murray Holland has an uncanny sense for business management, finance, and markets, both domestically and internationally. If he speaks, listen. There is nobody better than Murray Holland when it comes to prognosticating finance and business matters. His vision has consistently--in some cases unfortunately--been right." -- John Waller, Chairman, Waller Capital Corporation

"A Nation in the Red is a complete, sophisticated review of all the economic, business, and currency issues we are facing now that the United States has one of the worst debt problems in the world. Murray Holland accurately analyzes our very few options for how we can get out of the trap our government has put us in. Read it!" -- Ray Washburne, Finance Chairman, Republican National Committee

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. A NATION IN THE RED: The Government Debt Crisis and What We Can Do About It
  3. Copyright page
  4. Dedication
  5. CONTENTS
  6. PREFACE
  7. CHAPTER 1 A NATION IN THE RED
    1. U.S. Defaults
    2. This Time It Is Different
    3. Why Governments Default
  8. CHAPTER 2 REAL NUMBERS
    1. Growth of Government
    2. Are Budget Forecast Numbers “Real”?
    3. Receipts
    4. Real Numbers
    5. Debt Is Debt, or Is It?
    6. Interest Is Interest
    7. Long-Term Outlook
    8. Two Types of Debt
    9. Social Security
    10. Interest Rates
    11. Can Matters Get Any Worse?
    12. Have We Hit Rock Bottom Yet?
    13. Conclusions
  9. CHAPTER 3 THE DEBT TRAP
    1. The Concept of Keynesian Economics
    2. Monetarism
    3. Supply-Side Economics
    4. Confidence
    5. Differences between Keynesian Economics and Monetarism
    6. Causes of Economic Downturns
    7. Critique of Keynesian Economics
    8. Historical Deficits
    9. Politics and Economic Theory
    10. The U.S. Debt Trap
    11. When Will the Market Make the United States Stop Deficit Spending?
    12. The Debt Trap in a Nutshell
  10. CHAPTER 4 THE FINANCIAL CAUSES OF THE DEBT TRAP
    1. Taxes
    2. Government Spending
    3. Government Debt
    4. More Burdens to the Economy
    5. Regulations
    6. Why Didn’t Anyone See This Coming?
  11. CHAPTER 5 PSYCHOLOGICAL CAUSES OF THE DEBT TRAP
    1. Ethics of Government Debt
    2. Psychology of the Corporate Welfare Group
    3. Opium
    4. Psychology of Socialism
    5. Psychologists on Liberalism
    6. The History of Socialism: The Results of Liberal Minds Taking Over Governments
    7. Dreamland
    8. How the Mind Works
    9. Deeper Causes
    10. Behavioral Genetics
    11. Is Dopamine the Culprit?
  12. CHAPTER 6 THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND CURRENCY CRISES
    1. Debt Levels
    2. How the Markets Affect Everything
    3. Getting Behind the Power Curve
    4. Causes of the European Debt Crisis
    5. Greek Debt Trap
    6. Musical Chairs
    7. Move to Safety
    8. Other Countries in Trouble
    9. Crash in Real Time
    10. Relevance of the European Economic Crisis
    11. What Would a U.S. Federal Government Default Feel Like?
  13. CHAPTER 7 THE 5 WAYS OUT OF THE DEBT TRAP
    1. The Gimmicks Fiascos
    2. Let the Economy Grow the Country Out of the Debt Trap
    3. Default and Repudiate Debt
    4. Print Money to Pay for It
    5. Raise Taxes and Reduce Expenses
    6. Bailout
    7. Other Options
  14. CHAPTER 8 CAN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ESCAPE THE DEBT TRAP?
    1. Five Ways Out
    2. Two Ways Out
    3. The Solution
    4. The Answer
    5. How the Europeans Are Dealing with the Debt Trap
    6. Dealing with the Problem
    7. Politics
    8. Obamacare
    9. How to Get Out
    10. Structural Change
    11. Can It Be Done?
  15. CHAPTER 9 WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN TO YOU, AND HOW CAN YOU HELP?
    1. Effects of an Economic Depression
    2. What It All Means to Government Workers
    3. The Ordinary Working Men and Women
    4. Preppers
    5. We Can Stop This from Happening
  16. NOTES
  17. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  18. INDEX

Product information

  • Title: A Nation in the Red: The Government Debt Crisis and What We Can Do About It
  • Author(s): Murray Holland
  • Release date: November 2013
  • Publisher(s): McGraw-Hill
  • ISBN: 9780071829809