[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]ZEB wrote:
[quote]kamui wrote:
[quote]squating_bear wrote:
[quote]kamui wrote:
or
$53 000 / 12 x 40
$110 per american per month, for 40 years.
On top of the rest. Of course.[/quote]
You’ve usually got an interest rate with a debt
That becomes an issue when you’re thinking of 40 years
I often wonder what the interest rates are, who the debts are owed to, and what the money funded. Anybody know where someone can find these information?
[/quote]
According to wikipedia’s article : National debt of the United States - Wikipedia
real (ie compared with inflation) interest rate is apparently negative since 2010.
now you can interpreted that in different ways :
either :
“oh, it’s not that bad after all, let’s borrow some more money”
or
“then it’s really a great time for some cuts. We have to do it NOW”
depending on where you stand on the political spectrum.
Also, remember that a significant part of this debt is due to/owned by american citizens, american banks, and american corporations.
Foreigners “only” owns $4,5 trillions of the total debt.
Regardless of these numbers, the main problem is not what you already owe, but what you will inevitably, predictably have to paid when baby-boomers will start to retire.
Now, THAT is scary.
[/quote]
Not at all scary to the people who voted for Obama. They are not intimidated in the least by the amount of debt. They are laughing at people who think this is a serious issue.
They are indeed courageous people…or just plain dumb.[/quote]
I wonder who is responsible for the idea that running deficits doesn’t matter:
Former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill was told “deficits don’t matter” when he warned of a looming fiscal crisis.
O’Neill, fired in a shakeup of Bush’s economic team in December 2002, raised objections to a new round of tax cuts and said the president balked at his more aggressive plan to combat corporate crime after a string of accounting scandals because of opposition from “the corporate crowd,” a key constituency. O’Neill said he tried to warn Vice President Dick Cheney that growing budget deficits-expected to top $500 billion this fiscal year alone-posed a threat to the economy. Cheney cut him off. “You know, Paul, Reagan proved deficits don’t matter,” he said, according to excerpts. Cheney continued: “We won the midterms (congressional elections). This is our due.” A month later, Cheney told the Treasury secretary he was fired. The vice president’s office had no immediate comment, but John Snow, who replaced O’Neill, insisted that deficits “do matter” to the administration."
Source: [X-ref O’Neill] Adam Entous, Reuters, on AOL News Jan 11, 2004
I for one believe that this is a huge fucking problem but, at least in my mind, neither party is serious about solving it. [/quote]
Well, you did have one party willing to put entitlement reform out there, despite the political dangers. The other had an 18 page 2nd term agenda, released only after the last debate, with no mention of a plan to reform them. 18 pages mostly filled with pictures.
