Yet we never see budget numbers divided up by their impact on women and men. Feminist thinkers and economists at Expo '96 shattered myths surrounding the federal budget. For the past several years almost every politician has railed about the need to balance the federal budget and cut the national debt. Social programs that provide needed funds to the poorest Americans have found themselves on the chopping block - Medicare, Medicaid, and welfare. Education and student loans have been targeted for cuts, and some politicians are even talking about eliminating the Department of Education.
Economists are divided about whether our deficit is a problem.
After all, every family incurs deficits all the time to buy a house or car, or to get an education. Politicians use the federal budget deficit as a way to silence reformers, said Ehrenreich. Our national parks, our clean air and water, are assets. Other assets include financial assets, land, mineral rights, and physical structures and equipment. If they were, much of the debt would be offset, according to some budget analysts.