Debt Reduction- Advice On Credit Card Debt Reduction, Debt Reduction Services, And Debt Reduction Plans

L P asked:


1. (TCO 5) Rising business investment and consumption will (Points: 5)
increase aggregate demand
increase aggregate supply

not change aggregate demand

None of the above

2. (TCO 6, 10) A major advantage of ‘automatic stabilizers’ is that (Points: 5)
they automatically produce surpluses during recessions and deficits during inflation.
they help stabilize the economy without having any effect on the personal income.
they simultaneously stabilize the inflation and reduce the absolute size of the public debt.
they require no legislative action by Congress to be made effective.

3. (TCO 6, 10) An increase in government spending and tax cuts would call for a: (Points: 5)
deficit during a period of demand-pull inflation
surplus during a period of demand-pull inflation
deficit during a recession
surplus during a recession

4. (TCO 6, 10) The ‘crowding-out effect’ from government borrowing is “reduced” when: (Points: 5)
interest rates are rising.
the economy is operating at full employment.
government spending improves human capital in the economy.
private spending is falling.

5. (TCO 6, 10) An increase in taxes and cut in government spending would be appropriate to curb (Points: 5)
demand-pull inflation
recession
rising interest rates
fiscal deficits

6. (TCO 6, 10) Each of the following is an example of discretionary fiscal policy except (Points: 5)
public works spending
making the automatic stabilizers more effective
changes in tax rates
changes in interest rates

7. (TCO 5, 6) Most economists would agree that public debt should be reduced (Points: 5)
during both periods of recession and prosperity
just during periods of recession
just during periods of prosperity
never

8. (TCO 6, 10) Two ways to lower the budget deficit are to (Points: 5)
raise taxes and raise government spending
lower taxes and lower government spending
raise taxes and lower government spending
lower taxes and raise government spending

9. (TCO 7, 10) Which is most likely to be affected by changes in the rate of interest? (Points: 5)
tax multiplier
investment spending
government spending
the imports of the economy

10. (TCO 7, 10) Other things equal, the purchase of government bonds by the Federal Reserve will cause (Points: 5)
an increase in the money supply
an increase in interest rates
a decrease in the money supply
a decrease in commercial bank loans
a reduction in nominal GDP

11. (TCO 5, 6, 10) If automatic stabilizers kick in automatically, when real GDP falls, (Points: 5)
tax revenues and transfer payments both should fall
tax revenues and transfer payments both should rise
tax revenues should fall and transfer payments should rise
tax revenues should rise and transfer payments should fall

12. (TCO 5, 6, 10) During time of inflation, we want to (Points: 5)
raise taxes and run budget deficits
raise taxes and run budget surpluses
lower taxes and run budget surpluses
lower taxes and run budget deficits

13. (TCO 5, 6, 10) The effect of big tax cuts on the real GDP of a weak economy is (Points: 5)
strengthened by the crowding-out effect
weakened by the crowding-out effect
reinforced by reducing MPC (Marginal Propensity to Consume)
none of the above

14. (TCO 5, 6, 10) Government spending can be financed by all of the following “except” (Points: 5)
personal income taxes
investment spending
government borrowing
money creation
excise taxes

15. (TCO A tariff on a product (Points: 5)
makes domestic sellers better off and domestic buyers worse off.
makes domestic sellers worse off and domestic buyers worse off.
makes domestic sellers better off and domestic buyers better off.
makes domestic sellers worse off and domestic buyers better off.

16. (TCO Each of the following would reduce our trade deficit except (Points: 5)
increasing saving
decreasing oil imports
increasing investment
raising interest rates

17. (TCO 9) If the dollar price gets “weaker,” (Points: 5)
the U.S. trade deficit will rise.
the U.S. trade deficit will fall.
the U.S. trade deficit will be unchanged.
None of the above necessarily happens.

18. (TCO 9) If the supply and demand for currency deter

Craig Similien

The Presidential Finger asked:


Please rank the following accomplishments from Most Great to just plain great.

a – takeover of General Motors
b – takeover of Wall Street
c – takeover of big oil
d – takeover of health care
e – immigration reform
f – reduction of taxes for 95 percent of Americans
g – switch from “Global War on Terror” to “Overseas Contingency Operations”
h – reduction of the budget deficit and national debt
i – appointment of Tim Geithner, Janet Napolitano, Tom Daschle, Caroline Kennedy, Hilda Solis, Kevin Jennings
j – overtures to other nations whom we have oppressed
k – invitation to the President of Mexico to speak to Congress on immigration
l – nomination of the “wise latino woman”
m – improvement in performance of Bridgeport Police
n – reaction to terrorist attacks in NYC, Detroit, and Fort Hood
o – other
sieg…do 95 percent of Americans pay taxes?
Kevin…is it constitutional to force an American to buy something that they do not want?
ed…the purpose of the question is for you to list an accomplishment…not just say “more.” That’s like saying “change”…what does it mean?
onlooker, you have a future as a press secretary.

Loyd Hultman

Sky asked:


Obama’s planning on raising taxes across the board to cover a $1.5 trillion gap by 2015. Now I *know* the anti-tax crowd (we know who you are–so don’t bother DENYING it!) is going to have kittens and protest avidly till their blue in the face, but what is it about having to pay taxes–or their share–that they don’t like?

Why do they expect to get a free ride in return, while expecting others to pick up the tab for them?

Taxes is what makes this country *run*. Without them, we wouldn’t have ANYTHING.

No public services, no government services, no schools, no roads, no first response, no *police*, not even post offices!

Everything that depends on state or federal taxes will be GONE!

Then what? What will the anti-tax crowd have left to be happy? Money?

To be spent on *what*–when there is nothing to spend it *on*?

Groceries? Guns? Porno? What’s so *important* to the anti-tax crowd that they have to save up money for–that they don’t have to pay anymore taxes?

According to a recent government report, our deficits aren’t going to be sustainable without higher taxes.

That means–whether the anti-tax crowd likes it or not–the government is going to have to raise taxes even higher to sustain past, present, and future spending levels.

And at this point, it’s not going to be reduced. It’s going to go HIGHER and HIGHER–no matter *which* party is in office.

Everyone is going to pay for the rising debt we are accruing. Everyone whom chips in at work is going to have to pay for it.

Everyone who works for a *living* is going to have to pay for it.

Even the poor and those on fixed income–are going to have to pay for it–even though they don’t pay taxes; with the social services they are on will be more costly–which means likely reductions in medical or general assistance and less in food stamps. (But that’s fine by everyone on this board–right?)

Also, the *cost* of basic essentials will have to go up as well. Clothing, personal hygiene items, and of course, *food*.

You’ve noticed how expensive things are now–haven’t you? A good loaf of bread? A gallon of milk? Even cheese is getting up there!

You think it’s bad *now*–with the way things are costing at your local grocery store–on your various budgets?

Think of the HIT people living on fixed income and general assistance has to go through on a monthly basis–having to face that kind of price hike (with no extra money or assistance to compensate for the sudden increase) because the tax rate either doubled or tripled for their area.

Stores everywhere are having to pass the added taxes in extra *costs* onto the general public.

Each and every time taxes go up.

Everyone–except the wealthy–are going to be feeling it for years to come.

And that’s the reality we all will have to face and acknowledge.

Even for those “special” groups of people whom **** having to pay their way and are expecting preferential treatment in return for not ponying up the dough.

Thoughts?

Gail Raitz

Ken asked:


My close friend has massive credit card debt and is experiencing considerable financial difficulty. I repeatedly encounter ads leading me to infer that the federal government has passed legislation whereby stimulus money is available to pay up to 50% of credit card debt. Two sites in particular are http://www.us-gov-creditrelief.info/ and http://www.creditreliefact.com/.

I am inclined to strongly recommend this program to her, but she tells me she has explored several avenues that have all turned out to be scams. So I simply need authoritative and trustworthy information on government plans.

Is there, in fact, a government plan to pay down credit card debt for troubled private citizens, or are such suggestions all scams?

If there are such government plans, how should my friend proceed to utilize them?

Major Eilertson

Double R asked:


I received an advertisement from an attorney a few months ago who claims he could lower my property taxes. He made it clear he charges a percentage of the reduction. I agreed. Now I get a bill from him charging me more then he saved me in the taxes.

It turns out that he has done this to many people, and two months ago was disbarred. I contacted the State Grievance committee for advice and they informed me that they have no jurisdiction on a disbarred attorney.

Can this guy come after me? I am very confident that I will not have to pay this ridiculous bill, but he did save me in my taxes so I wonder if I would have to pay a portion of it. I am concerned because the property is owned by an estate and it will be resolved soon, once it is I could be held personally responsible for any outstanding debts. This guy is a jerk and it turns out all he did was file a few papers that I could have done, I don’t want to give him anything because he is a crook but I don’t want to later on get stuck with a bill the estate should have paid.

Donnell Roof

R asked:


I had to make a financial choice a little over a year ago so I stopped paying on my credit card debt. Is it true that after 7 years the debt will fall off of my record and what can the financial institutions do to me in the mean time? I am not trying to skip out on what I owe but the CC companies refused to help when I needed it and raised interest rates in spite of my perfect payment history. I have checked into bankruptcy and debt reduction and I am in a financial no man’s land caught between paying debt or necessities. Help.

Toney Ballantine

Leslie C asked:


I don’t have credit card debt, but I have a rather high phone bill of roughly $8800. When I called the phone company- after the customer rep I was speaking too told me what my bill was about to be- I was told I would be able to reduce the total bill since I wasn’t previously offered an int’l calling plan. After an hour of waiting on the line, the rep came back to say his mngr approved said reduction. I find out a month and $1000 later they decided to revoke the changes. Would bankruptcy help this issue, or am I stuck trying to find a way to pay this off…??

Mary Tasler

John S asked:


I have to say I found Niall’s argument more compelling. Krugman seems interested in only postponing the inevitable which is to begin paying down the debt and balancing the budget. But then I read Ryan O’Neil’s budget that Ferguson recommends and I found it utterly preposterous. It’s loaded with old ideas like flat taxes, cuts of corporate income tax (a tax that’s bloated with many loopholes), elimination of dividends and capital gains tax, privatization of social security. It’s obvious none of these men are politicians because none of this will fly with the American public! The only decent idea is a national VAT coupled with reduction of the private income tax. This will lower conspicuous consumption, encourage saving and help nab those getting paid under the table. Since the VAT could not be evaded. I think we are just going to have to move forward with austerity and make big and painful cuts to welfare and defense spending. But I see this even to difficult since Repbublicans insist defense spending is not “discretionary” in actuality it is and dems can’t make difficult cuts to social spending. Wat are your thoughts on today’s show? The dollar deflation and the state of the American budget?
@ K. I agree with you about the pork! But Krugman is a leftie but I think he speak with genuine conviction. After Ferguson made an appeal for O’Ryan’s budget, I think he actually looks more the hack. But politics aside, what else should the congress do?
@ K. I agree with you about the pork! But Krugman is a leftie but I think he speak with genuine conviction. After Ferguson made an appeal for O’Ryan’s budget, I think he actually looks more the hack. But politics aside, what else should the congress do?

Adolfo Shofestall

Reality has a Liberal Bias asked:


http://zfacts.com/p/57.html

It Was Reagan, Not Congress
Some say Reagan had nothing to do with the debt’s U turn
They say it was Congressional Democrats. Not true. Had things worked out just as Reagan proposed and predicted, the debt still would have gone up 85% as much. But even this is deceptive. The reason his predicted savings did not materialize was not Congress. The reason was that he predicted much more economic growth from supply-side magic than actually happened. So he counted on taxes that were never collected to help his budgets. In fact a study by the House found that Reagan asked for $29.4 billion more in spending than Congress passed.

From the White House: The Reagan-Bush Debt Explained
“The traditional pattern of running large deficits only in times of war or economic downturns was broken during much of the 1980s. In 1982 [Reagan's first budget year], partly in response to a recession, large tax cuts were enacted. However, these were accompanied by substantial increases in defense spending. Although reductions were made to nondefense spending, they were not sufficient to offset the impact on the deficit. As a result, deficits averaging $206 billion were incurred between 1983 and 1992. These unprecedented peacetime deficits increased debt held by the public from $789 billion in 1981 to $3.0 trillion (48.1% of GDP) in 1992.” [emphasis added]

Reality. What a beautiful choice.

Heather

jack asked:


bill will not cost more than one trillon dollars, or that it will not raise taxes. Then please explain to me how we can pay for this while not raiseing taxes and while not makeing our nation bankrupt.?
Please protect your glorious acheviement? (this comes from the Governement accounting office website www.gao.gov.)

Another way to measure the long-term fiscal challenge is the fiscal gap. The fiscal gap is the size of action needed—in terms of tax increases, spending reductions, or some combination of the two—for debt as a share of GDP to equal today’s ratio at the end of a certain period, such as 75 years. For example, under our Alternative simulation, the fiscal gap is 8.5 percent of GDP (or more than $62 trillion in present value dollars) (see table 1). This means that revenue would have to increase by about 47 percent or noninterest spending would have to be reduced by 33 percent on average over the next 75 years to keep debt at the end of the period from exceeding its level at the beginning of 2009 (40.8 percent of GDP).
to all those who want to see the graph please go to www.gao.gov and you can find the entire report and you can see all the little graphs on it, you can also see the break it down by political party if you like to only make yourself look like a moron because you can not stat all the facts because you only want your side to look good, either way i do not care, there is the web-site check it out for yourself.
also in the same report it stats that by 2028 medicare will be running in the red 4 years earlier than expected.
“this bill will cost 816 billion dollars over ten years and lower the national debt.” these were President Obama’s words in a press confrence in Feburary of this year.
the CBO is a governement accounting office that is funded and supported and maned by the political party that holds power, next year if a Rep. President he will choose people to run the CBO, the CAO is run by independant finacial advisors who break down all bills in ten year incraments and can go further at the request of the house.

Brian Zeilinger