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Welcome to the official home and wonderful world of Pulitzer Prize Winning Political Cartoonist Michael P. Ramirez, daily editorial cartoonist for the Las Vegas Review Journal |
National Debt Hole 04-11-19
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First black hole picture: A breakthrough look from across the universe
The Event Horizon Telescope captures one of the most powerful objects in existence. And basically, it's the Eye of Sauron. ERIC MACKAPRIL 10, 2019 9:12 PM CNET It is among the most powerful, confounding and fascinating objects in existence, and on Wednesday humanity finally saw one with its own eyes: Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration revealed the first direct image of a black hole. The image looks a little like an out-of-focus campfire, but the data that went into creating it is actually equal to the amount of selfies 40,000 people might take in their lifetimes, according to University of Arizona astronomy professor Dan Marrone, who spoke at one of six simultaneous press conferences held across four continents. "The observations were a coordinated dance in which we simultaneously pointed our telescopes in a carefully planned sequence," said Marrone, who traveled to Antarctica several times to integrate the South Pole Telescope into the EHT array. read more The National Debt Explained
BY INVESTOPEDIA Updated Jan 3, 2019 The national debt level of the United States is a measure of how much the U.S. government owes its creditors. Since the government almost always spends more than it takes in, the national debt continues to rise. As of January 3, 2019, the national debt stands at $21.974 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury Dept. It has increased 10 percent since President Trump took office in January of 2017. Under President Obama, the national debt increased 100 percent, from $10 trillion to $20 trillion. It is easy to understand why people (beyond politicians and economists) are starting to pay close attention to the issue these days. Unfortunately, the manner in which the debt level is explained to the public is usually pretty obscure. Couple this problem with the fact that many individuals do not understand how the national debt level affects their daily lives, and you have a centerpiece for discussion — and confusion. National Debt vs. Budget Deficits First, it's important to understand what the difference is between the federal government's annual budget deficit (or fiscal deficit) and the outstanding federal debt (or the national public debt, the official accounting term). Simply explained, the federal government generates a budget deficit whenever it spends more money than it brings in through income-generating activities such as individual, corporate or excise taxes. In order to operate in this manner, the Treasury Department has to issue treasury bills, treasury notes and treasury bonds to compensate for the difference: financing its deficit by borrowing from the public (which includes both domestic and foreign investors, as well as corporations and other governments), in other words. By issuing these types of securities, the federal government can acquire the cash that it needs to provide governmental services. The federal or national debt is simply the net accumulation of the federal government's annual budget deficits: It is the total amount of money that the U.S. federal government owes to its creditors. read more |
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