The Impact of National Debt on U.S. National Security

Abstract

The United States faces a growing national debt that will adversely impact the economy and weaken national security. The national debt is currently $14.2 trillion; the Congressional Budget Office projects the debt to reach $17.4 trillion by 2015, and $21.4 trillion by 2020. The national debt can impact national security through the inevitable budget cuts that will be necessary to curb the growth in debt, as well as through more subtle effects, such as decreased soft power capabilities, reduced capacity to respond to national security concerns, a decrease in U.S. allies' confidence in the ability of the United States to protect common interests, and a decrease in U.S. influence in international affairs. To date, the impact of the debt on national security has been minimal, but that will change as payments on the debt increase and the measures required to reverse its upward trend are implemented.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 29, 2011
Accession Number
ADA564995

Entities

People

  • Martin L. Blank

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Commerce
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Economic Development
  • Federal Budgets
  • Foreign Aid
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • International Organizations
  • Investments
  • Law
  • National Security
  • Second World War
  • Security
  • Students
  • United States
  • War Colleges

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  • Economics
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting