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Balancing the Family Budget

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    Debt to Me: How do Americans pay their bills?

  • Duration 2:37
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We'll -- American family now right powerful metaphor in the great debt debate.

The president saying most families in -- still find a way to pay their bills adding that Washington.

Could learn a few lessons from hard working households.

But as the feds continue to rack up debt to the summer wondering exactly how American families are balancing.

Their own budget -- -- in these tough times.

James Rosen is live in DC with a look at this now James good morning to you.

Good morning bill this notion that Uncle Sam should conduct his financial affairs the way -- typical American family does indeed that the federal government even can do that.

Has taken on the aura of a self evident truth.

The people who put us here can gain some confidence.

That we're gonna begin to live like debut around their kitchen tables and in their businesses.

American people know when they sit at their kitchen table they can't say no we won't reduce the amount of money we spend on food her.

Or closing if we have to make sure our kids to continue going to college we have to pay that doctors -- But debt to me is not the same thing as debt to Uncle Sam as we will explore in this occasional series.

Here is the kitchen table for a typical American family of four based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With an average annual income of just over 85 grand.

And average annual expenditures of about 65 grand the family's biggest bill usually is for housing about 22000.

Dollars a year.

Next comes transportation whether you've got your own -- taken mass transit but clocks in at about eleven grand a year.

Then comes food and while of course not even the folks at the Bureau of Labor Statistics would recommend.

Steak and Fries every day that costs -- average family for almost -- grand a year factor -- insurance and pensions things like entertainment as well as health care we didn't even -- -- taxes here.

And that family of four might not have the 6500 dollars a year cost on average to vacation in Hawaii.

Jay Powell of the bipartisan policy center explains to us why this family of four.

Can't just raised its own debt ceiling.

It's you don't fit because people look at the at the income of a family and and they and they.

Do you have of them to lenders are gonna be quite careful about about default.

In -- case of the United States.

You know where this gigantic powerful economy and again the world once our paper.

In our next segment you will sit at the president's desk -- sort of family kitchen table for the country.

And you'll see all the federal budgeting process works a -- bill we promise we will not show anything.

From this computer here -- you.

Back to be a problem introducing -- James thank you.

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