Question

From class we learned that in 2010 the federal debt (in millions) was $13,561,623 and the population of the

U.S. was 309 million. Express your answers rounded to the nearest cent.
a) Compute the federal debt per capita in 2010. S
b) Use the CPI table from your text to compute what this value would be in 1977 dollars.

Answer 1

24, 931, 70 is the answer :)

Answer 2

a) To compute the federal debt per capita in 2010, you divide the federal debt by the population:

Federal Debt per Capita = Federal Debt / Population

Federal Debt per Capita = $13,561,623,000,000 / 309,000,000

Now, calculate it:

Federal Debt per Capita ≈ $43,889.97

So, in 2010, the federal debt per capita was approximately $43,889.97.

b) To compute what this value would be in 1977 dollars, you can adjust for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI represents the change in the price level of goods and services over time.

First, you need to find the CPI for the years 2010 and 1977. Let's assume the CPI for 2010 is 100 (as the base year), and you'll need to look up the CPI for 1977.

Let's say the CPI for 1977 is 56.7.

Now, adjust the federal debt per capita from 2010 dollars to 1977 dollars using the CPI:

Adjusted Federal Debt per Capita = (Federal Debt per Capita in 2010) * (CPI in 1977 / CPI in 2010)

Adjusted Federal Debt per Capita = ($43,889.97) * (56.7 / 100)

Now, calculate it:

Adjusted Federal Debt per Capita ≈ $24,931.70

So, in 1977 dollars, the adjusted federal debt per capita would be approximately $24,931.70.

Explanation: