How Big is the U.S. Debt? Quiz

1. The U.S. government debt _______________________.

• is not significant since we owe the money to ourselves
• is the difference between federal expenditures and federal revenue in a single year
• does not matter because the government can pay it off at any time it chooses
• totaled $19 trillion at the end of 2015

2. If the total value of U.S. government assets is $3 trillion, then _______________________.

• selling all the property the federal government owns would do little to erase the national debt
• the government can sell that property and print the rest of the money owed. Problem solved
• the government can borrow $3 trillion and use the property it owns as collateral
• there really is no problem

3. _______________________ include Social Security and Medicare payments that the government has promised to people but does not have the money to pay.

• Unfunded loans
• Unfunded revenue
• Unfunded mandates
• Unfunded obligations

4. The $90 trillion that the U.S. owes or has promised to pay is _______________________.

• more than the economic output of the entire planet
• easily raised by increasing taxes on the top one percent of earners
• not a big concern. If it were, it would be in the news
• shrinking each year as the government has begun to pay it off

5. The main point of this video is that _______________________.

• some people worry so much about minor concerns they make them seem like major concerns
• the U.S. government debt is a staggering amount and growing rapidly
• despite the amount of money the U.S. government owes, it can easily pay that off
• government debt can be paid off without harming the economy simply by printing more money