The National
Debt
"If I'm spending someone else's money, I'll spend freely." -Bob
Inglis, Greenville
News(from 2006, but the story doesn't change)
OK, here's how it works:
Year after year, the government routinely
spends more than it takes in. For you or me this would eventually result
in bankruptcy, but for the government it instead results in a financial
condition called "progressive massive crippling debt". This ruinous financial
strategy is pursued by people in suits who otherwise pride themselves in
possessing a trait called "fiscal responsibility", except when it comes
to trillions of dollars and their own country. Anyway, the government makes
up its ongoing shortfall by borrowing money from rich people in the form
of T-bills, and then we all pay interest to these rich people in the form
of taxes. It's basically a protection racket combined with a sort of proxy
loan sharking operation. And you know what's really incredible about all
this? I'm not making it up!
Despite having run up the largest debt in the history of civilization, the Republicans nonetheless actually manage to label themselves fiscal conservatives, a feat so spectacularly brazen as to almost be worthy of something like admiration. Remember candidate Bush? He said he was going to cut taxes, more or less ignore spending, and pay off the national debt in ten years. He actually said this. Regrettably, because he was wearing a suit and seemed sincere, other politicians and the media apparently thought it impolite to point out this was plainly ridiculous.
The Democrats for their part make the occasional squeak about balancing the budget, but this is mostly so they can blame the Republicans for not doing it.
This year's budget deficit is projected to be $400,000,000,000- not quite another record, but then the year isn't over yet. Part of the election process this coming November will be trading excuses for this wild financial excess, and promising that next year will of course be different. A combination of irresponsibility, confusion, and hopelessness will again prevail.
So you can go ahead and be financially responsible, you can pay off all your bills, you can decide not to buy a new home or a new car, you can cut as many corners and pinch as many pennies as you like and you'll still continue to sink into debt, because you have elected officials in Washington relentlessly running it up for you, year after year. And you pay them to do it.
OK, follow me on this: since we want income to equal outgo, and since income is less than outgo, then either income needs to go up or outgo needs to go down, or some combination of the two. Hopelessly abstract? Perhaps. But, clearly, some innovative thinking is needed here.
The graphic truth-
And the Republicans have controlled the White House and both houses of Congress since ... oh, must have been 2000.
USA Today
Monday 03 April 2006
The federal government is currently spending 20.8 cents of every $1 the economy generates, up from 18.5 cents in 2001, White House budget documents show. That's the most rapid growth during one administration since Franklin Roosevelt.
There are no signs that the trend is about to turn around. The House Budget Committee last week rejected a proposal that would require spending hikes to be offset by cuts in other spending or by tax increases.
This week, the House is scheduled to debate the $2.8 trillion budget for 2007, which projects an additional $3 trillion of debt in the next five years.
Despite having run up the largest debt in the history of civilization, the Republicans nonetheless actually manage to label themselves fiscal conservatives, a feat so spectacularly brazen as to almost be worthy of something like admiration. Remember candidate Bush? He said he was going to cut taxes, more or less ignore spending, and pay off the national debt in ten years. He actually said this. Regrettably, because he was wearing a suit and seemed sincere, other politicians and the media apparently thought it impolite to point out this was plainly ridiculous.
The Democrats for their part make the occasional squeak about balancing the budget, but this is mostly so they can blame the Republicans for not doing it.
This year's budget deficit is projected to be $400,000,000,000- not quite another record, but then the year isn't over yet. Part of the election process this coming November will be trading excuses for this wild financial excess, and promising that next year will of course be different. A combination of irresponsibility, confusion, and hopelessness will again prevail.
So you can go ahead and be financially responsible, you can pay off all your bills, you can decide not to buy a new home or a new car, you can cut as many corners and pinch as many pennies as you like and you'll still continue to sink into debt, because you have elected officials in Washington relentlessly running it up for you, year after year. And you pay them to do it.
OK, follow me on this: since we want income to equal outgo, and since income is less than outgo, then either income needs to go up or outgo needs to go down, or some combination of the two. Hopelessly abstract? Perhaps. But, clearly, some innovative thinking is needed here.
The graphic truth-
And the Republicans have controlled the White House and both houses of Congress since ... oh, must have been 2000.
USA Today
Monday 03 April 2006
The federal government is currently spending 20.8 cents of every $1 the economy generates, up from 18.5 cents in 2001, White House budget documents show. That's the most rapid growth during one administration since Franklin Roosevelt.
There are no signs that the trend is about to turn around. The House Budget Committee last week rejected a proposal that would require spending hikes to be offset by cuts in other spending or by tax increases.
This week, the House is scheduled to debate the $2.8 trillion budget for 2007, which projects an additional $3 trillion of debt in the next five years.
5/30/08- campaign volunteer Serena Snyder writes:
This is what the US Comptroller General
thinks-
US Government Immorality
Will Lead to Bankruptcy
For so long we have sent lawyer after lawyer to Washington (DC) to look out for our interests. The question is are we satisfied with what they have done? I know that I am not. In Congress Republicans and Democrats alike voted for the war, with the exception of Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul, and continue to vote yea for increased spending in Iraq, if they voted at all. Despite warnings about the coming economic crisis in this country from the former Comptroller General of the United States, who resigned his position in February of 2008, they chose to continue with the status quo and overspend, overspend, overspend.
They make promises that they cannot keep when it comes to the social programs and entitlement benefits in the United States. There are no funds for this. Our dollar is seriously devalued which is going to lead to ever increasing prices on everything. On one hand they say tax cuts while on the other promising one payer health care. Where are they planning to get the funding? As the dollar's value continues to lessen- for many reasons such as the growing public debt, the growing removal of commodities pricing from the USD to the EU and the continued printing of dollars that aren't backed by a gold standard- less countries are going to want to loan us money. We are already indebted to Japan and China to the tune of about $1 trillion.
Think about it. Let's say you started a big business. You took many, many loans from the bank and consistently only pay on part of the interest and at the same time you borrow smaller amounts from friends claiming that when they retired you would take care of all of their expenses and medical care. You do this over a long period of time and your debt to the bank increases until you owe considerably more than your net worth. You still owe this debt to your friends whose contributions didn't even come close to how much you are going to have to pay out to them and they are beginning to retire. The bank won't loan you any more money, you owe huge sums to your friends and you aren't even managing to pay the bills to keep your business running or even your home.
If you did this you would be in jail but this is exactly what our government has been doing over time. And even in the much touted "balanced deficit" Clinton years the federal debt (public debt) increased by more than $1.3 trillion per TreasuryDirect.gov.
At some point this has to come to an end. Do you think sending the same kind of people over and over to DC is the answer? Did you know that at no point in the history of the United States has there been no public debt? That's correct, not one single year. Isn't it time to try something different? By all means, if you think things are great and that government is doing a very fine job go ahead and send one more typical politician to Washington. But if you think that it's time for a change, if you think that it's time that we begin to send Congress a message that we want change, then vote for someone who actually would be a change. Vote for Ted Christian.
Serena K. Snyder
The definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
