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Friday, August 31, 2012

Some Clear Thinking On 'The Debt'

If you haven't heard yet, the United States of America just hit $16 trillion in debt yesterday [12]. On a gross, nominal basis, this makes the US, by far, the greatest debtor in the history of the world.

It took the United States government over 200 years to accumulate its first trillion dollars of debt. It took only 286 days to accumulate the most recent trillion dollars of debt. 200 years vs. 286 days. This portends two key points:

Anyone who thinks that inflation doesn't exist is a complete idiot;
To say that the trend is unsustainable is a massive understatement.
At an average interest rate of 2.130%, Uncle Sam will shuffle $340 billion out the door just in interest payments this year... and it's a number that's only going up. To put it in context, China owns so much US debt that the INTEREST INCOME they receive from the Treasury Department is nearly enough to fund their entire military budget.

It's rather disgusting when you think about it.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

According to Obama and democrats all we need to do is tax rich people and big coroporations and make them pay their fair share. Thats all I have heard...thats their plan. Meanwhile I have no job, no money, there's been no change in the past three years and no real hope for it getting any better. I know who I'm voting for...

Anonymous said...

if that's all you 'heard" then perhaps you should actually try to read what is put out.

I swear some people are so lazy it amazes me. Read what is being put out. Don't depend on someone elses opinion about it.

Anonymous said...

Amen 9:45!
I know jobs are scarce, I've been looking to "change" jobs with not much success.
However, why did business stop hiring in the first place?
When did the halt in hiring start?
As yourself those questions Anon 8:49 before laying blame.
You're obviously listening to sound bites and talking heads instead of looking up your own information.
Uninformed voters are a problem, period!
There are faults on BOTH sides of the aisle. It's YOUR responsibility to figure out the differences and to determine which side of the aisle thinks "more" like you do. I think you'll find out neither party is 100% of the same ideas as yours. That's why you should RESEARCH! You obviously have the time if you're unemployed, and you obviously have some sort of access to the internet!

Anonymous said...

Ok...I use the word heard because there is no written plan or budget to reduce the debt. Obamas proposals are pretty much the same as what he put forth in Sept. of 2011...not much has changed except the size of the deficit. There is a good Wall Street Journal article dated Aug. 12, 2012 that pretty much tells the story. Check out some of the comments people wrote about that article. I guess it doesn't bother you that every day the govt. prints money and de-values our currency it takes from every person that has a dollar bill. And parts of the debt reduction plan such as saving money by pushing for lower prescription drug prices...how vague is that? Or that they have not only failed to pass a budget but apparently have no interest in trying to pass one? I voted for Obama and had high hopes that he would pass a balanced budget amendment when he had the chance...if he got Obamacare passed he could have done that too. And gone down in history as the balanced budget president.