How do I get government grant money for financial hardship?
The Government has created a portal to help individuals who need benefits because of life events. Visit http://www.govbenefits.gov Use the drop down button DO YOU NEED BENEFITS BECAUSE OF A LIFE EVENT? Choose the life situation best applicable to you and then see if you qualify for the available government assistance. Forget grant money - there's hardly any money for individuals, including those in deep debt. Go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support your objectives. But you'd be hard pressed to find any grant that would support individuals. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for individuals and your type of need. Federal grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments. Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT - Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs
In what ways are government debts different from personal debts?
The government does not represent any indivdual, business, or group. It is an agency that governs the country. Governments either borrow money (by issuing bonds) or raise money via taxes. A government may be fired or laid off. Still, nothing changes. Government employees continue to get paid. Government services continue to get delivered. There is no single person that is called the government that is going to be homeless, or starving, or jobless, etc. Individuals in the government -- the President, Governors, Mayors, etc. may die, go to prison, go broke, etc. But nothing happens to the government itself. Many governments (Greece, for instance) have no money -- none at all. Still, Greece continues. The people of Greece still have their roads, electricity, schools, etc. All money is debt. But, in the end, there comes a point when you choose between paying your debt and surviving. People don't need pieces of paper or plastic to survive. The ground will grow food. The oceans will have water. Air will continue to flow. The sun will continue to shine. Money does not change basic things. It is just a means of managing debt. Practically every government in the world owes more than it earns. I don't know of any government (including the US government) that has enough money to pay off all of its debts overnight -- or that can even guarantee that it will have paid off all of its current debt in 100 years from today. Governments (in theory) go on forever. Individuals have a limited life. Therefore, an inidividual without money will eventually die. But a government without money will survive basically forever. It must. Governance and therefore government is essential. Let's say you dissolve the government -- the government, in essence, dies. So what? There will be another government in its place.This is not true of a person. A person who dies is dead forever. No other person can take his or her place. Each person is unique. No amount of money can ever bring back a person or even replace the person. However, governments and monetary systems can be (and have been) destroyed and resurrected infinitely.
What effect would clearing all world debt have? Including mortgages, government debts, individual loan debts, pay day loan debts, etc.?
The whole economic system moves on credibility or say hope pegged on faith.If this happens then most european countries especially PIIGS nations will jump out off of joy. Most Europeans countries have very high Debt to GDP ratio, US and Japan also have a reason to get excited. Most Asian and Africans countries will regret for why they didn't raised huge external debt if this was to happen. Most European countries, US and Japan know very well that they can never pay off their external debt. So it will be a good fresh start for them.But this will eventually crush the credibility. "If this can happen once why it can't happen once again in future?"Perhaps this will become the mentality of individuals and institutions.In this fresh start all world nations taking their respective lessons will just blindly try to raise their external debt... and just import and import. This will eventually lead to lost in faith in all big 6 currencies, USD, Euro, CAD, AUD, Yen, GBP. Perhaps same will be with all currencies.>Countries would rather exchange goods for good, leading to a barter system of exchange.>World nations specially China will cry out as for years they worked so hard to build up stock pile of forex reserves. US and European countries unlike Asians keeps more gold reserves than forex reserves.>World governments will fail to meet their expenditures as after soaking money from domestic investors they don't have foreign investors who is willing to invest in their T-bills or bonds.>Global assistance in terms of technology or aid will be at minimum. There will be a substantial loss in ambitiousness for big corporations like Apple, Microsoft as now they have very less market available now.A currency will get limited to it's nation only. But since it will also happen with individual loans. Many banks will default, Banking system will collapse that means all sectors will be in pain. Hard lending. So banks will not be lending anymore fearing it may happen in future once again.It will be an ultimate crisis which cannot be resolved until the credibility is restored.EditOh Wait! You said All debt cleared.. what basically is money?! It's DEBT. Money is nothing but debt.Every account balance of everyone will be big 0. A perfect fresh start for all world economies.
What would you do to stop wasteful government spending in Washington?
Reward federal agencies for coming in under budget and STOP punishing them for saving money. Right now, if a group in the federal government does not spend all the money allotted in the budget for that year, they lose the money and they are further punished by having their budget reduced by that amount the following year. This flawed practice only encourages them to spend any excess monies at the end of the fiscal year to avoid having that money taken away and not getting the same budget the following year. I have personally seen millions and millions of dollars spent every year on things that are not necessarily needed just to zero the account by the end of the year. Why not reward them by letting them carry that money over to the next year and not cut the budget the following year. If over a period of three years, the budget is still not being spent, then reduce the overage by only 50%. We need to encourage agencies to be good stewards of our tax dollars, and stop punishing them for not spending everything that was allotted them that year.
Resolved: The government should balance its budget.?
not sure if this will swing well with your exam but here goes...there is no way to balance if you spend more than you make...there is no giving up...what has been promised to you. You can ask and beg for more..and if there is a way to get it...it will be given. If they were to balance the budget....they would have to cut way more systems than they are ready have just to stay in rear veiw of the already exsisting budget....but really do your home work...everyone has an answer of what they would do...but no one can resolve it....If we stopped giving so much money to other countries trying to make allies...we could be okay....