For your response posts, comment on the macroeconomic debates your peers chose. Provide examples from current economic news about the macroeconomic policy debate, and comment on the nature and tenor of the discourse surrounding the different debates.

Post:

The debate I chose was "Should the Government Balance its Budget?" This subject and debate is relevant to me as I have two young children that will one day be paying taxes and hopefully be a part of a robust American economy. In my opinion, the pros of balancing our budget far outway the cons. As I highlighted in my module six discussion post, Admiral Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, once said, "The most significant threat to our national security is our debt." As the national debt grows, not only are we more beholden to creditors around the globe, but we have fewer resources to invest in strength at home (pgpf.org, 2022). While there are many other factors at play when deciding to balance or not to balance our budget, National security should undoubtedly be at the top of the list. Keeping the debt to GDP ratio low is also important as a high ratio of over 100 indicates a country isn't producing enough to pay off its debt. With that said, "In 2019, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that, if current policies are maintained, U.S. government debt as a percentage of GDP would increase from 78 percent in 2019 to 147 percent in 2049" (Mankiw, 2020). That is not the economy or country I want to leave for my children. It has been great learning with you all these past eight weeks, and I wish everyone the best in your future endeavors.