Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

The U.S. Is Shackled By Historic Debt

Do you feel as if you’re drowning in debt? It’s worse than you think.

The U.S. government reached a new milestone when our country’s debt topped $21 trillion for the first time. The national debt grows by an average of $17,000 every second – more than some people earn in an entire year. That’s only an average, and During the past eight months, the national debt grew by $52,000 per second. And the trend toward bigger and higher spending is only getting worse.

The ratio of national debt to GDP is at 105 percent, larger than the economy as a whole. In 1981, the national debt comprised a mere 31 percent of GDP. We are not moving in the right direction. The Treasury Department has plans to borrow $1 trillion this year, an 84% jump from last year.

When individuals borrow, they can use the money wisely to increase their wealth. That’s what happens when people make good investments. What does the government do with all this money? While some of it may be put to good use, the National Science Foundation’s spending $856,000 on having mountain lions run on treadmills can’t be termed prudent spending. Nor can the $2 billion spent on former President Obama’s healthcare website. In 2017, Brooklyn, NY spent $2 million on a 400 square feet restroom in a public park. Flushing money down the toilet?

More

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Social security and Medicare are not free. During your career(provided you have a job) money is withheld from your payckeck for social security and Medicare. And when you reyret you still pay Medicare depending on your income bracket. These programs are not welfare. If you want to take these programs away then just give me l the money I paid into them for 40 years.

Anonymous said...

And it's only set to get worse!

Anonymous said...

It's easy to spend money that isn't yours.

Anonymous said...

Whenever someone is drowning in debt, there is another person drowning in that person's money (think about it)