Global Economic Watch Special Topic November 24, 2009 Thanksgiving Defense This time of year calls on Americans to reflect on and give thanks for the freedoms and prosperity we enjoy. Of course, we can only do so because of those who put their lives on the line every day: the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who bear repeated deployments, hardships, and danger without fail and without complaint. Afghanistan The whole world, I think, has a core security interest in making sure that the kind of extremism and violence that youve seen emanating from this region is tackled, confronted in a serious way. Budget In addition to the $533.8 billion request, the Administration requests $130.0 billion for Fiscal Year 2010 to support ongoing Overseas Contingency Operations Allocation Tradeoff Crowding The estimated population of the United States is 307,377,289 so each citizen's share of this debt is $39, The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $3.81 billion per day since September 28, 2007! Discussion What is the first principle of economics? Why federal spending is by and large mandatory? Why there is no free lunch (in economics)?